ESPN pundit absolutely loved what Enzo Maresca did with Joao Felix in Leicester win

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Joao Felix made a rare start for Chelsea in their 2-1 win against Leicester City on Saturday.

Chelsea spent big money on Joao Felix in the summer, bringing him in from Atletico Madrid for £45m.

However, the forward has been reduced to a bench role this season, failing to make a single start in the Premier League before his side’s victory at the King Power Stadium.

Even so, Benoit Badiashile has still lauded Felix, describing his teammate as a “smart player”.

• READ MORE: Chelsea fans are all saying the same thing after Joao Felix’s performance vs Leicester

Janusz Michallik on Joao Felix’s latest performance for Chelsea

Felix could not get his name on the scoresheet against Leicester, with Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez being the players who grabbed Chelsea’s two goals.

Former USA international Janusz Michallik, however, was still impressed with Felix’s performance and thought Enzo Maresca utilised the 25-year-old very well by deploying him as an inside forward.

Discussing the Chelsea manager‘s decision to start Felix on ESPN FC, Michallik said: “Another very interesting tweak from Enzo Maresca I thought was the positioning for Joao Felix. The fact that he starts, he’s talked about him ahead of the game that he’s his kind of player and he’s doing very well.”

He later went on to add: “He created space for [Marc] Cucurella to play very high and very wide and he was coming inside together with Cole Palmer right behind Nicolas Jackson, so that played well.”

Joao Felix’s numbers vs Leicester

Felix may not have scored against Leicester or provided an assist, but he did look dangerous at the King Power Stadium at times.

The Portuguese managed to get past some Leicester defenders with his dribbling and also registered one key pass.

Did Felix do enough to keep his spot in the team? After Pedro Neto’s performance against Arsenal just before the international break, probably not.

Felix’s compatriot was excellent that day, scoring Chelsea’s all-important equaliser. Had he not been carrying a knock, he probably would have started at the King Power Stadium instead of Felix.

Chelsea’s next game in the Premier League is against Aston Villa, and you would expect Neto to return to the starting line-up for that fixture if he is fit.

Neto idolised Chelsea legend Eden Hazard growing up, something that the Portugal international recently shared. He has made 15 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season, scoring three goals.