Since arriving at Chelsea, Enzo Maresca has got a lot of things right, vindicating the club’s decision to hire him.
Moving Chelsea‘s star man Cole Palmer to a more central position and putting his trust in Nicolas Jackson are just a couple of examples.
They have been Chelsea’s two best players this season, scoring 13 goals combined in the Premier League.
However, in the Blues’ 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, there was something that Maresca definitely got wrong.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall experiment goes wrong
Jadon Sancho was in contention to start on Chelsea’s right flank, but the winger missed the game through illness.
As a result, Maresca decided to play midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall on the right in a move that drastically backfired.
Dewsbury-Hall squandered a glorious chance early in the first half and was substituted just before the hour mark after struggling to make an impact in attack.
According to Sofascore, the 26-year-old did not manage to register a single key pass and only had one more shot, which was blocked, after the golden opportunity that he missed.
Pat Nevin thinks Dewsbury-Hall is a top player, but it is quite obvious the wing is not the place for him.
Enzo Maresca should have started Noni Madueke
Noni Madueke was the player who replaced Dewsbury-Hall in the second half. Bearing that in mind, Maresca should have just started him.
Pedro Neto was another option available, but the 24-year-old was not included in the squad for the game.
Maresca probably wanted to give both him and Madueke a rest. However, with Sancho ill and Madueke eventually coming on, you cannot help but feel that Chelsea should have just started the game with a natural winger on the right.
Opting to go with a midfielder like Dewsbury-Hall instead could just be the worst decision Maresca has made as Chelsea manager so far.
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