In their west London derby against Fulham on Saturday, Chelsea went into half-time with a 1-0 lead.
Enzo Maresca, though, was not happy with the team’s first-half performance and thought one of his players was really poor.
Maresca headed straight down the tunnel after Joao Pedro’s goal at the end of the first half, eager to get to his tactical board.
When Chelsea came back out, they were a much better team and managed to double their lead through an Enzo Fernandez penalty.
Enzo Maresca claims Enzo Fernandez was ‘not good enough’ in first half vs Fulham
Fernandez finished the game with a goal and an assist, but Maresca was left feeling very unsatisfied with his first-half showing.
Fernandez was not happy himself, and there was even one incident at half-time where Fernandez could be seen yelling at fans and the Chelsea bench.
When asked about his player’s fury, Maresca told football.london and other outlets: “The answer is, he’s a Club World Cup winner, he’s a World Cup winner. And I think probably he’s the only player in the world to win both titles. And when he’s not good enough, he can recognise. And probably he was upset for that. Because in the first half I think he was not good enough.
“Then in the second half he was, like the rest, brilliant. So probably the reason why he was not happy is because he can see that he was not good enough. And in the second half I think he was brilliant. But at the end of the game they were all dancing or celebrating the win. So Enzo was there and he was happy.”
Fernandez has not been included in Argentina’s squad for the upcoming round of international fixtures, with the midfielder currently suspended.
Chelsea fans will now be hoping that a period of rest can help the 24-year-old to perform more consistently when the Premier League returns.
What Chelsea fans had to say about Enzo Fernandez’s first-half performance against Fulham
Like Maresca, there were also a lot of Chelsea supporters on social media who were not impressed with Fernandez in the first 45 minutes of Saturday’s west London derby.
One Chelsea supporter said: “As a Chelsea fan, there’s nothing bad if you admit Enzo Fernandez didn’t play well in the first half.”
Another Chelsea fan said: “Enzo Fernandez with a Mo Salah type performance. Poor first half but left with 2 G/A.”
One Chelsea supporter thought Fernandez was really bad, posting: “He had a terrible first half.”
Another said: “Terrible first half from Enzo Fernandez. Much better in the second half. Even I thought he should’ve come off but we need him back in form ASAP.”
Unsurprisingly, the 24-year-old’s price tag was also referenced. “Enzo Fernandez that was a 100m-player second half. But that first half was 3 million.”
He was also praised by another fan for turning things around in the second half. “Enzo Fernandez has been very lively this half. He has redeemed the bad first-half performance. Kudos to him.”
All in all, it was not Fernandez’s best game, but he still managed to come up with two goal contributions, while Chelsea went on to claim all three points. The Argentina international and his teammates can be happy with how they have started the season.
Next up for them in the Premier League is another west London derby against Brentford.
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