“He has to learn” – Frustrated Maresca on moment of madness that may ruin his season | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca tried to be positive in his post match interview after Chelsea’s agonising defeat to Newcastle at St James’ Park.

His team went a goal down after 2 minutes, then down to ten men later in the first half, but did their best in the second half to try and make a game of it.

Maresca proud of team’s efforts in the circumstances

“In this stadium against this team it’s already complicated, and if you give them one extra player it’s even more difficult,” said a philosophical Maresca at full time.

“The red card affected the game, no doubt, but we had three big chances in the second half, which is not easy with ten men. The energy, the spirit and the togetherness of the team in the second half has been fantastic. It’s something I feel proud of,” the manager continued.

He also made it clear that he didn’t think our chances are dead just yet:

“Now my feeling is you need to win both games [to qualify for the Champions League].”

Maresca addresses red card nightmare

Nicolas Jackson reacts to his shocking red. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The real talking point of the game was Nicolas Jackson’s red card, and Maresca resisted the opportunity to lay into the forward for his rash decision.

“I didn’t speak to Nico, it’s not the moment. We will speak in the next day. No doubt he has to learn from it, especially at this stage of the season where we have two more games. You have to avoid this kind of thing. You need all your squad available. It happened, and he will be out. Hopefully he can learn for the future,” the manager said.

“He is our nine, the other one is Marc Guiu who has been injured for three months and is close to being back. We need to find a different solution for the last two games that are important.”