“The idea was” – Maresca reveals why he surprisingly started Palmer and Jackson against Legia Warsaw | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has revealed why he started both Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson against Legia Warsaw on Thursday night.

Chelsea turned in another poor performance as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge, but advanced to the semi finals 4-2 on aggregate.

The Blues will face Swedish side Djurgårdens in the last four, but this performance added to the concern surrounding the club right now.

Maresca explains why he played Palmer and Jackson

Many expected Maresca to heavily rotate the side given Sunday’s game against Fulham and the fact Chelsea were 3-0 up from the first leg.

However, it was a surprise to see how strong a team he put out, with the likes of Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Jackson and Palmer all starting.

It didn’t make sense to a lot of people as to why the Italian named such a line-up but he revealed after the game his thinking behind playing Jackson and Palmer.

Palmer once again struggled in front of goal. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

“The idea was for them, especially for Nico, the idea to play with him was to continue to build physical condition,” he told his post-match press conference.

“Cole had a small problem before the break and it was to use him for 45 minutes/an hour to build some tempo.

“For sure, if they were able to score goals it would be a good boost for them.”

Jackson played 45 minutes, which would have been helpful on his comeback from injury,  but the Senegal international offered very little and still hasn’t scored in 2025.

Palmer didn’t fare much better and now hasn’t scored since the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth in January, 15 games ago.

More Stories / Latest News

“The idea was” – Maresca reveals why he surprisingly started Palmer and Jackson against Legia Warsaw

18th Apr 2025, 06:45am

“They need experience” – Popular former Chelsea player hits out at “policy of the club”

18th Apr 2025, 06:30am

“What leaders are there?” – Steve Sidwell hits nail on the head in Chelsea assessment

18th Apr 2025, 06:08am

It would have been an ideal scenario for both to get on the scoresheet to boost their confidence ahead of a tricky game against Fulham.

Chelsea are going to need the duo to find their form over the final six games if they are to have any chance of winning the Conference League and securing Champions League football.