Jamie Redknapp thinks £90k-a-week Chelsea star wasn’t happy with where he was playing against Tottenham

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Chelsea managed to beat Tottenham Hotspur in another exciting London derby between the two sides on Sunday.

It saw Chelsea move to just four points behind league leaders Liverpool, though Arne Slot’s men have a game in hand.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	14	11	2	1	29	11	18	35
2	ChelseaChelsea	15	9	4	2	35	18	17	31
3	ArsenalArsenal	15	8	5	2	29	15	14	29
4	Man CityManchester City	15	8	3	4	27	21	6	27
5	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	15	7	4	4	19	18	1	25
6	Aston VillaAston Villa	15	7	4	4	23	23	0	25

While the Blues did manage to beat their London rivals, it was not an easy game. They ended up winning 4-3, having a tough day at the back.

The likes of Marc Cucurella and Benoit Badiashile really struggled, with Jamie Carragher blaming Cucurella for the first two goals Chelsea conceded after the left-back’s two slips during the match.

• READ MORE: How Benoit Badiashile feels about staying at Chelsea after receiving approaches from several clubs

Jamie Redknapp on Benoit Badiashile

With Wesley Fofana injured, Enzo Maresca decided to start Badiashile on the right side of Chelsea’s central defence.

The 23-year-old is left-footed, though, and looked extremely uncomfortable trying to play on his weaker side, which former Tottenham and Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp noticed.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Super Sunday, Redknapp said: “Spurs started the game so well. You know, they came out the blocks flying. It was a great piece of movement by [Dominic] Solanke… Badiashile didn’t look happy on the right-hand side and he [Maresca] changed it there.”

In the second half, Badiashile and Levi Colwill swapped places, while Malo Gusto replaced Moises Caicedo at right-back after coming on for Romeo Lavia.

Benoit Badiashile’s numbers vs Tottenham

Had Chelsea have lost that match, then Badiashile and Maresca would have probably come in for a bit of criticism.

Again, Badiashile, who earns £90,000 a week at Stamford Bridge (via Spotrac), really struggled during the first half and did not have the best game overall.

One error that Badiashile made led to a shot, while he was also responsible for losing possession 12 times.

Going forward, it makes way more sense to play Tosin Adarabioyo or Axel Disasi at right centre-back.

Ideally, Fofana would just stay fit, but Chelsea have been unable to keep him that way since signing the France international from Leicester City back in 2022.

Fofana watched Chelsea’s victory over Tottenham and loved Cole Palmer’s Panenka, but he will want to be on the pitch.

Right now, though, that is not an option for Maresca, who needs to find a solution after Badiashile’s difficult outing.