Enzo Maresca has revealed why he played Christopher Nkunku as a winger when he came on as a late substitute against Liverpool last weekend.
The Blues slipped to their second defeat of the season at Anfield, but gave a good account of themselves and can certainly take positives from the game.
Without defensive errors the result could have been different, but Chelsea’s young squad would have learnt a lot from the occasion.
Maresca reveals why he played Nkunku wide against Liverpool
With the clock ticking and Chelsea needing a goal to rescue a point Maresca turned to Nkunku, but instead of playing him in his preferred central position he played him wide.
It meant that Pedro Neto, who was having a good game shifted flanks and Nkunku really struggled to make an impact up against Joe Gomez.
It was a decision many fans picked up on after the game and Maresca could have put Nicolas Jackson wide and played Nkunku through the middle, which perhaps would have made more sense.
However, Maresca has now spoken on the matter and gave his reasons for playing Nkunku wide and keeping Jackson central.
“I don’t see Nico [Jackson] in the wide area, sometimes it can happen, for sure, but I don’t see him there,” he said as cited on X.com.
“And the reason why Christo [played there against Liverpool] because we wanted to have two very attacking players in that moment.”
You can understand where Maresca is coming from but playing wide really doesn’t suit Nkunku and Jackson would be much better suited to playing there if that situation arises again.
Nkunku got on the scoresheet against Panathinaikos on Thursday night as he scored a penalty to take his tally to eight goals this season, with Joao Felix admitting he loves playing with the France international.
The Frenchman didn’t have the best game in Greece and will likely once again find himself on the bench against Newcastle on Sunday, and recent reports have suggested he’s unhappy playing a back-up role.
