Pat Nevin believes Enzo Maresca should have introduced Joao Felix against Liverpool because Chelsea needed creativity.
The Blues slipped to their second defeat of the season at Anfield on Sunday as they went down 2-1 to the league leaders.
Despite the defeat there were plenty of positives for Maresca’s men to take, one of them being the return of Reece James, who said he had really missed playing in the big games.
Nevin feels Maresca should have used Felix against Liverpool
The Blues showed how far they have come as a team in a short space of time and it was their best performance at Anfield in a number of years.
Defensive errors ended up being the difference between the two sides with Robert Sanchez coming in for heavy criticism for his performance, although Maresca was full of praise for the Spaniard after the game.
Nicolas Jackson scored Chelsea’s goal after being set up by Moises Caicedo, who former Blue Emmanuel Petit recently described as the best midfielder in the league this season.
Despite giving a good account of themselves Chelsea will be disappointed they didn’t test Caoimhin Kelleher more in the Liverpool goal.
Maresca wasn’t afraid to turn to his bench and used all five permitted substitutes with Pedro Neto the most impressive, although Benoit Badiashile also put in a solid display.
However, former Blue Nevin believes the Italian should have introduced Felix because the Blues were lacking creativity.
“As someone openly wanting a Chelsea win but always brutally honest enough to accept when we are second best on the day, there was one player I wanted introduced more than any other, Joao Felix,” he told BBC Sport as quoted by The Chelsea Chronicle.
“Enzo Maresca made five changes when creation was needed and the Portuguese playmaker wasn’t called on.
“Is there something his managers know that I don’t, because in terms of skill and creativity he clearly deserves more chances if Chelsea are going to have a chance.”
Felix is yet to start a Premier League game for the Blues this season with the bulk of his minutes coming in the cup competitions and his next chance to impress will likely be on Thursday against Panathinaikos in the Conference League.
