Former Chelsea star Frank Leboeuf believes Enzo Maresca had already made an error involving Cole Palmer before he was subbed off in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.
The Blues made a real mess of their trip to Old Trafford, which was sent in the wrong direction immediately when Robert Sanchez was sent off.
Maresca reacted to the red card by subbing off Estevao Willian and Pedro Neto for Filip Jorgensen and Tosin Adarabioyo, however his problems were added to when Cole Palmer was forced off moments later through injury.
It emerged after the game that Palmer had struggled all week with his fitness, however he made the call to start the game against United.
Frank Leboeuf slams Enzo Maresca for Cole Palmer decision before he was subbed off
The three substitutions left Chelsea with very little chance of getting back into the game, even after Casemiro was sent off on the stroke of half-time.
Leboeuf stated after the game that he believes Palmer should not have been playing at all if he was struggling with his fitness, describing the manager’s thought process as ‘insane’.
He said: “If Cole Palmer isn’t at 100%, then he shouldn’t play. Especially at Chelsea, where you have 200 players at your disposal.
“If you have to sacrifice another forward player, you take off Cole Palmer first [who wasn’t at 100% anyway], not Pedro Neto. That is insane from Enzo Maresca.”
Questions asked of Maresca after United defeat
Maresca is managing a stricken side who have had very little time to recover in pre-season from the Club World Cup, but there were certainly questions to ask of his squad selection for their last game.
Presumably the boss knew about Palmer’s injury concern, however chose not to name Facundo Buonanotte in his squad for the trip to Old Trafford.
The expectation is that the Argentine will be handed a start when they make the trip to face Lincoln in the EFL Cup, although many will question who Maresca was planning to replace Palmer with if things were not going as badly as they were.
The Italian has enjoyed an excellent start to life at Chelsea, however the trip to Manchester will not go down as one of his best moments.
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