Enzo Maresca addresses awkward questions about player he hauled off at half time | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca spoke to Chelsea TV after his side’s defeat to Liverpool at Anfield yesterday, and insisted there were “many, many many” positive things to take from the game.

“The performance, on the ball, off the ball, was very good. Without the ball we pressed high, man to man. On the ball I think the team was playing very well,” Maresca insisted.

“The good thing is to come here and not change our style, not change our way, to try and win the game. We did that until the end.”

We wish we could be quite that positive about the showing. There were some good moments for sure – a nice first half period where he controlled the game, but we really disagree about the pressing. There was a lack of that, especially when we were chasing the game.

More awkwardly, the Chelsea boss was asked about Jadon Sancho and his half time removal:

“Just a tactical decision,” Maresca explained, declining to go into any more detail.

You can see the coach speaking in the clip embedded here:

Jadon Sancho huffs and puffs off the ball. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Sancho prepares for battle for his place

Sancho earned his spot in the team soon after arriving, but one feels that with Pedro Neto breathing down his neck, the England international could lose it as soon as he earned it. Still, that’s the whole point of the deep squad and the many options.

Neto came on and ran down a lot of blind alleys – but at least he ran down them. He certainly caused more issues in his time on the pitch than Sancho did in his pretty bland and tepid 45 minutes. The former Man U man really does seem like he needs the right opposition and the right game to thrive. In this sort of intense game he struggled to make an impact at all.