Enzo Maresca will have very few complaints about what he saw from his Chelsea players as they returned to winning ways in expected but emphatic style.
The Blues picked up a 4-0 win against the Saints at Stamford Bridge, moving back inside the top four in very comfortable fashion.
The job was all but done in the first half for Maresca as Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Levi Colwill found the net.
The Portugal international seemed to have something pressing on his mind, as Neto made a dig at Chelsea fans who had made themselves heard during the pre-match protests.
With the game done, Maresca looked to give some of the younger players in the squad some minutes, with one of these players being Tyrique George.
Enzo Maresca says Tyrique George will play next Chelsea game
The winger has had a breakthrough campaign after being promoted to the first team from the academy alongside defender Josh Acheampong, who also was handed minutes.
George carried on his strong start to life at Stamford Bridge with a fine assist for Marc Cucurella’s goal, with him coming close to his first Blues goal as well.
Something that will be crucial for Chelsea in order to steady the ship is to put a run of wins together, and there is perhaps no better opportunity for that than games against Copenhagen in the Conference League and Leicester in the Premier League.
Despite the likes of Cole Palmer being added to the European squad, there is still the opportunity for the Blues to rotate a squad that have had to work around key injuries of late.
George has already starred in the Conference League this season, with the level of opposition not the same of those sides in the Premier League.
Maresca was asked if we can expect to see more of George in the coming weeks, starting with the first leg away in Denmark next week.
He said to TNT Sports: “Yes. Especially because we have the Conference League and then Leicester. For us, the priority is to take the club to where it need to be – which is the Champions League.”
Enzo Maresca’s previous comments about Tyrique George show youngster’s improvements
With Noni Madueke injured and Jadon Sancho very much out of form right now, there was an argument for George to start at Stamford Bridge.
However, the boss stated before the game that George wasn’t ready for regular starts, playing down expectations of the youngster at a crucial point of the season.
He said: “For sure, he’s a young one. He’s not probably ready 100 per cent. But because of the amount of injuries we have, we need to use the ones we have. Ty is a young profile, he’s doing well… Hopefully we can give him more chances and he can help us.”
Against Southampton, George was keen to beat his man and get into key attacking positions, something that has been lacking from teammates of late.
A start in the Conference League could be exactly what the Cobham graduate needs to make his presence known as a first team player, although that competition may be crucial in Maresca keeping his job at the end of the season.
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