Enzo Maresca has bizarrely claimed that Chelsea were “quite good” other than the goals they conceded against Newcastle on Wednesday evening.
Maresca once again made 11 changes, but the Blues crashed out of the Carabao Cup after falling to a 2-0 defeat at St James’ Park, meaning their wait for a first domestic trophy since 2018 continues.
Two goals in three first half minutes put pay to Chelsea’s chances as Alexander Isak capitalised on sloppy defending before Axel Disasi put through his own net.
Maresca feels making 11 changes worked
Chelsea’s “B” team has so far managed to beat the likes of Barrow, Gent and Panathinaikos but this was clearly a game too far.
It’s clear from Maresca’s use of substitutions and by the players he left at home this match and this competition wasn’t a priority.
The Blues had a few opportunities, but were once again masters of their own downfall, although Maresca wasn’t happy with the performance of the referee with a potential foul in the build-up to Newcastle’s opener.
It certainly will have been a learning experience for these players and not many if any showed anything to suggest they should be forcing their way into the team for Premier League minutes.
Speaking after the game Maresca surprisingly felt other than a ten minute period Chelsea played quite well and from a performance stand point making 11 changes worked.
“I think it [making 11 changes] worked if we analyse the performance. If we analyse the result, then it didn’t work,” he told his post match press conference.
“But I think for 23 minutes, until their goal, we were in control of the game and didn’t concede anything. Then after the goal, we lost control for ten minutes, when we conceded the second goal, and then for the last ten minutes of the first half, we created two or three clear-cut chances when we unfortunately didn’t score and in the second half we were in control of the game.
“So I know the most important thing is the result but with the performance, we lost the game because of ten minutes and for the rest we were quite good.”
Chelsea will need to dust themselves down quickly as they face another big away game against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, a ground they haven’t won at since 2013.
