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Maresca RIDICULED after 'strange' call in Chelsea loss to Man Utd
Suraj Radia
- Updated: 21 Sept 2025 09:19 BST
- 4 min read
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Enzo Maresca’s decision making has been called into question after Chelsea’s loss to Manchester United which saw the Italian boss make three substitutes inside the first 21 minutes.
Chelsea found themselves a man down at Old Trafford after five minutes when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was shown a straight red card, which prompted Maresca to make two substitutions in the immediate aftermath, taking off wingers Estevao and Pedro Neto in the process.
The bold decision to sub off two attackers backfired as United took the lead in the 14th minute through Bruno Fernandes and Maresca used his third substitute seven minutes later when Cole Palmer was taken off for Andrey Santos.
Chelsea suddenly found themselves with just one attacking player on the pitch in Joao Pedro and Maresca admitted after the game that Palmer had suffered, having struggled with a long-standing groin issue during the week.
“He (Palmer) tried this morning. He had a test this morning to play this game,” said Maresca. “He was not 100% fit. He made a fantastic effort to play this game, but he was not 100%. It’s a problem that is already a long time for him, his groin.
“Again, he did this morning a test. He wants to play this game for the team, to be close. So the effort has been huge from him. But then, after 20 minutes, he started to feel something, so we decided to change it.”
Rooney criticises ‘strange’ Maresca subs
Having already made three changes and with just one substitution window left, Maresca was left with little room for flexibility going into the second half, with Chelsea two goals down and with limited attacking prowess to capitalise on Casemiro’s red card for United.
Maresca made another defensive change by bringing in Malo Gusto for Marc Cucurella before Tyrique George came on for Wesley Fofana due to injury, leaving €100 million in attacking talent on the bench in Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens.
The decision to sub off all of Chelsea’s attacking talent proved fatal as the Blues were unable to force an equaliser despite Trevoh Chalobah pulling a goal back for the visitors with ten minutes to go.
United legend Wayne Rooney was among the critics of Maresca’s handling of the game, labelling the changes as ‘strange’ on Match of the Day and the Chelsea manager’s inexperience perhaps showed by his knee-jerk reaction to a shock start by his side.
The result gave United a much-needed win to relieve some pressure on Ruben Amorim, while Chelsea were handed their first defeat in the Premier League this season, giving Maresca plenty to think about ahead of their next league match against Brighton next week.
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