Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday was a game where Enzo Maresca had to use his bench.
Chelsea did not really create anything in the first half, which finished 0-0. Overall, it was a really disappointing first 45 minutes.
Marc Cucurella, Mykhailo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez all eventually came on. Chelsea fans felt Fernandez played well after he was substituted on, but his introduction was not enough to help Enzo Maresca‘s side win the game.
To gain all three points, Chelsea perhaps needed to bring on Christopher Nkunku, with Nicolas Jackson having a really quiet match.
Christopher Nkunku an unused substitute
United contained Jackson well. The 23-year-old was not able to be direct and run with the ball as he usually does.
According to Sofascore, Jackson completed just one dribble and was only able to register one shot.
Gary Neville thought Jackson disappointed on the day, along with the rest of Chelsea’s attack. Ultimately, Maresca perhaps needed to change something.
Replacing Jackson with Nkunku was the logical option, but the Chelsea manager opted against doing so and left the 26-year-old on the bench.
Christopher Nkunku not convincing Enzo Maresca
Not bringing Nkunku on, Maresca clearly felt that the Frenchman would not have won Chelsea the game.
At this moment in time, the 44-year-old does not look completely sold on Nkunku. The France international scored a hat-trick against Barrow in the third round of the Carabao Cup but was dropped for Chelsea’s next game.
Of course, Jackson has been in red-hot form this season, so Maresca had a good reason to bring him back into the side after Nkunku’s three-goal display.
But he was far from his best against United, yet his £52m teammate was still overlooked. It is a situation to keep an eye on because if Nkunku is not going to get minutes when Jackson is not playing well, then the former RB Leipzig man will not want to stick around.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
