Chelsea

Will Faulks
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Enzo Maresca has been given a lot of praise for the way he has handled his Chelsea squad this season. Despite a wealth of options, he quickly identified his best team and stuck with it, while using the cup competitions to keep the rest of his group happy - at least for now.

He has been helped by a good start to the campaign in terms of injuries, but in the game on Saturday, with absences to deal with and multiple fitness questions following the international break, the new manager handled the challenges very efficiently.

His Conference League tinkering had already shown him that he preferred Wesley Fofana at right-back to Axel Disasi or any other alternative, so the Frenchman slid over, with Benoit Badiashile coming into the team in the centre.

In midfield, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo were both risked despite long trips and late returns from South America in the break. Caicedo held down the midfield almost on his own, while Fernandez roamed forward and was extremely effective supporting Nicolas Jackson.

The really controversial pick was on the left, where Maresca went with Joao Felix over Christopher Nkunku to fill in for Pedro Neto. There is a lot of pressure on the manager from fans and from the media to get Nkunku into this team somehow, and this was an ideal opportunity to do so.

But Maresca did what he wanted rather than what was expected of him, and it paid off. Felix put in a real shift defensively, delivering a committed pressing performance which many people would have doubted he was capable of. Knowing he's competing with so many quality players for playing time was evidently inspiring to Felix, and the savvy Maresca can take credit for drawing that showing from his player with clever squad management.

Find more from Will Faulks at Chelsea News, external

Manchester United are interested in Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku but could face competition from Borussia Dortmund for the forward. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Leicester and Chelsea, which the Blues won 2-1.

Here are some of your comments:

Keith: Great performance all round. Shame we couldn't keep a clean sheet again. Things seem to be going in the right direction.

Hector: Palmer is being repeatedly targeted by other teams now. Maresca may need to drop him as he hasn't really been at the races. Chelsea navigated a tricky game after the international break. Leicester were resilient, but ultimately two moments of Enzo's brilliance sealed the game. Maresca's tactics spot on again.

Richard: Good to get three points. If Chelsea were more clinical in the final third of the pitch they would have been out of sight by half-time. Too often the final ball is poor and/or the wrong choice is taken. Caicedo excellent again - real consistency from him. Sadly, also consistency from corners - consistently bad. We throw away all these goalscoring opportunities.

JJ: I thought it was great. Our best performance in the Premier League so far this season.

Chelsea have joined Arsenal in the race for Alexander Isak, but Newcastle United will demand at least £115m for their 25-year-old Swedish striker. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

• Manchester City 0-4 Tottenham

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Enzo Maresca says Cole Palmer wasn't under pressure to withdraw from England after playing 90 minutes for Chelsea either side of an international break he pulled out of.

The 22-year-old was one of nine players, including Blues defender Levi Colwill, who pulled out of England's wins over Greece and Ireland this month.

Three Lions captain Harry Kane recently criticised those who withdrew in an interview with ITV Sport, calling it "a shame" and accusing his compatriots of "taking advantage".

When asked about Kane's comments in relation to Palmer, Maresca said: "It's a shame this week. Obviously I think it's a tough period of the season and maybe there's been a taking advantage of that a little bit. I don't really like it if I'm totally honest... I think England comes before anything."

But when asked about those comments, after the 2-1 win away at Leicester City, the Chelsea manager said: "My reaction is that we finished the game 10 minutes ago, we won 2-1 and the rest, there is not any reaction, there are no comments. We finished the game 10 minutes ago.

"I am not thinking about Harry Kane or what he's saying. I don't have any comments about this."

And when pressed on whether he or Chelsea put pressure on Palmer, he continued: "Me? Absolutely not."

Palmer struggled to excel at the King Power Stadium where Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez proved the match winners, taking a heavy challenge from Wilfred Ndidi in the first half.

But Maresca refused to complain about the incident involving one of his former players, when asked whether it should have resulted in a red card, adding: "I don't think Cole is the target. I don't think that.

"What I think, and I said after the Manchester United game, when there is bad intention, there has to be a different kind of punishment from the referee. I think Man United was bad intention.

"I'm not saying Wilf [Ndidi] was bad intention because I love Wilf. Overall, when there is bad intention, I think the punishment has to be different."

Maresca also confirmed Reece James is soon set for a scan after a hamstring problem and Malo Gusto pulled out of the match through illness overnight, with Pedro Neto picking up a knock on international.

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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca to BBC Match of the Day: "Good performance. Overall we deserved to win. It was also a good game to learn many things.

"For the first 30 minutes we were in complete control of the game and then started to make some mistakes and lost some control. In the last 10 minutes of the first half we started to be a bit sloppy. This is something we can learn that in football you can’t drop anything."

On Nicolas Jackson: "Since we started he’s doing fantastic. Everyone is watching the goals and assists but the way he works off the ball and presses, he’s doing very well."

On Enzo Fernandez: "Enzo is doing fantastic since we started. The game plan requires different types of players for every day. Today was a game for Enzo."

On facing his old club: "It’s been a pleasure to see old friends and good people."

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Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana after the 2-1 win at Leicester: "After the international break it is a bit harder. Some players only came back yesterday. We played well and we won the game which is the most important thing. The job is done. We have the three points.

"We like this pressure, we play for this and to finish at the top. We try to win every game to stay high.

"It felt great to come back here, [I had] two incredible years here."

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Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson scored his seventh Premier League goal of the season and his fifth away from home.

Since May, only Erling Haaland (18) has scored more goals in the competition than the Blues’ striker (11) while no player has scored more away goals than Jackson (5) in 2024-25.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

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Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies