Tireless Chelsea star should be proud of his performance by Manchester United, Enzo Maresca let him down

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As the dust settles on Chelsea’s first Premier League defeat of the season, one of their players can feel let down by his manager following his performance against Manchester United.

The Blues were beaten 2-1 at Old Trafford, and it became very likely they were not going to break their Old Trafford hoodoo just minutes in.

Robert Sanchez was sent off just four minutes into the game, causing Enzo Maresca to make two instant substitutions to his side, completely binning off any plan for the game in the process.

Minutes later, Cole Palmer couldn’t continue due to injury, meaning Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian and Palmer were all off the pitch very early on, with no attacking replacements for them.

• READ MORE: Behind the scenes information on Cole Palmer’s fitness before early substitution in Man United 2-1 Chelsea

Joao Pedro let down by Enzo Maresca in Chelsea’s loss to Man United

This left just Joao Pedro as the only recognised forward on the pitch, and any time the Blues went forward it seemed to be him against the world.

Even after Casemiro was sent off just before half-time to level the playing field, the Brazilian was taking the charge to United on his own for large portions of the 90 minutes.

Frequently Pedro picked the ball up in his own half and drove at the defence, however found himself without any options to pass to at the end of things.

Having either Neto or Estevao on the pitch would have given him someone to help share the workload in attack, and the forward should feel let down by Maresca that his substitutions gave Pedro no real help.

Joao Pedro’s incredible effort at risk of more injury woes

Pedro has been afforded very little time to rest this season following the injury against Fulham to Liam Delap, and this is always going to play a part on his own fitness.

Maresca admitted Pedro wasn’t 100% fit after the draw to Brentford, however since then has completed two 90 minute performances in four days after their return to the Champions League.

Thankfully the Blues have an opportunity to hand him a rest when they line up against Lincoln in the EFL Cup, with mass rotation expected for that fixture.