Chelsea cruised to a 4-1 win in Greece last night against Panathinaikos, seeing off a feisty opposition team who eventually collapsed as the atmosphere went out of the stadium.
The press conference after the game was pretty relaxed – what is there to say, really? The Blues cruised into the game with a wage budget 100 times higher than their opposition, and they made it count. At first it looked like it was going to be a lot trickier than that. The team lacked balance and chemistry, as you’d expect from a B team now really getting changed up regularly as the season gets into gear.
But the important part, as Enzo Maresca pointed out, was that the team found their balance and made “adjustments” which helped them get into gear on and off the ball.
You can see the Chelsea coach speaking in the clip embedded here:
It’s another game ticked off the list, but really these are just preparation games for the intense Premier League clashes to come. We could have won this game 10-0 or lost it 1-0. Ultimately, Sunday’s clash against Newcastle matters a lot more.
What we’re curious to see is how tonight’s selection and results influences that game. Maresca went big on Mykhailo Mudryk and the progress he’s made in the last few months. But will we see him at the weekend? We have our doubts.
Meanwhile Enzo Fernandez won’t be sleeping soundly tonight. We’re in that Twilight Zone period now where getting a start in this competition means your league place is under threat. Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer all got to stay in London, and will all be ultra fresh come this weekend… would you break up that dreamy trio to get Enzo in?
We’d say his chances of playing from the start come Sunday are looking slim, and that’s a huge development for this Chelsea team given how much he cost.
