Enzo Maresca says ‘brilliant’ Chelsea player who shone in the Conference League is learning slower than others

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Enzo Maresca will have been more than pleased with what he saw from his Chelsea side as they took to the road for the first time in the Conference League group stages.

In what was a potentially tricky trip to Greece to take on Panathinaikos, the Blues ran out 4-1 winners and looked electric in front of goal.

Glenn Hoddle was impressed in particular with Joao Felix. The Portugal international looked a cut above the rest in what was a rare start for Blues.

All four of the rotated attackers contributed to a goal, with Mykhailo Mudryk finding the net for the first time this season.

Enzo Maresca says Mykhailo Mudryk is learning slower than some at Chelsea

Jason Cundy was particularly impressed with the winger’s display both going forwards and tracking back. The pundit described Mudryk’s showing as ‘brilliant’.

Chelsea fans were wowed by Mudryk’s performance, with them acknowledging that it has been a tough start to the season for him so far.

Maresca seems to echo those thoughts, hinting in his post-match interview that the Ukraine international is perhaps learning slower than some of the players around him.

He said to Football London: “We want the best for Misha. Since day one, we are trying to help Misha. Probably for him, he is one of the guys that the learning process is more slow compared to the rest but he is improving.

“I’m sure that slowly, slowly we will have Misha scoring more goals and being important for us.”

Could Mykhailo Mudryk start on Sunday?

Mudryk was left out of the matchday squad completely for the Premier League match against Liverpool at the weekend, with Jadon Sancho starting on the left.

He was replaced at half-time after what he would probably describe as his weakest display since joining in the summer.

Pedro Neto impressed pundits after replacing him, however he is far better suited to a role on the opposite wing.

This could open up a chance for Mudryk to start at the weekend when Chelsea are back in Premier League action at Stamford Bridge against Newcastle United.