Enzo Maresca picks out what was ‘very good’ about Alejandro Garnacho in Chelsea’s win vs Benfica

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Alejandro Garnacho started and played a key role in Chelsea’s victory against Benfica on Tuesday night.

The Blues picked up three points in the Champions League group phase, securing a narrow 1-0 win at home to Jose Mourinho’s Benfica side at Stamford Bridge.

Benfica’s Richard Rios netted an own goal in the first half to decide the European fixture. Even though it won’t go down as an assist, Alejandro Garnacho deserves credit because it was his cross that was inadvertently guided into the net.

Garnacho, 21, scored positively in the Chelsea player ratings against Benfica from the Champions League showdown.

The summer signing has now made four appearances for the Blues, starting twice, as he’s slowly integrated into the team. Will he be handed his first Premier League start of the season this Saturday evening at home to Liverpool, though?

• READ MORE: Jose Mourinho’s beautiful gesture to Chelsea fans after hearing his name being sung in Benfica match

Enzo Maresca praises Alejandro Garnacho after Benfica win

After Chelsea’s narrow success against Benfica, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca did single out Garnacho for praise. In particular, he thought that the 21-year-old left-winger carried out his defensive work admirably.

When asked about the latest performance from Chelsea star Garnacho, Maresca said via TNT Sports: “Not only on the ball, I think defensively he was very good, the way he pressed. In the last third he has freedom to go one-v-one when he decides. To arrive in the box is important because it’s from there we score goals.”

Garnacho, who was screaming for the ball against Benfica, managed to make his mark on the contest. However, it does still feel like the Argentine speedster is working to get up to full speed, which is fair enough after a disrupted summer.

At the moment, Garnacho may have the edge over teammate Jamie Gittens in the battle to start on the left wing.

We’ve seen that Chelsea’s wingers under Maresca need to contribute up and down the pitch, so it’s positive news that Garnacho’s defensive work has been highlighted. We suspect it will strengthen his case to become a more regular starter moving forward.

Alejandro Garnacho statistics vs Benfica

During an hour on the pitch, Garnacho put in a decent shift on the left wing before being replaced by Gittens.

As you can see below, the South American attacker was pretty busy against Benfica.

Paul Scholes made the Garnacho prediction that he would be a success in Chelsea colours after leaving Manchester United in the summer. Even if he’s not yet anywhere near his best, there are glimpses in his game that he wants to beat his full-back and make the difference in the final third.