Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney and former Chelsea captain Gary Cahill have both questioned Enzo Maresca’s decision to make after Robert Sanchez’s red card
Wayne Rooney slammed Enzo Maresca’s tactical switches after Robert Sanchez saw red in Chelsea’s encounter with Manchester United.
The Blues were compelled to battle through most of the fixture with ten players after Sanchez received his marching orders from official Peter Bankes for a challenge on Bryan Mbeumo outside the box. The initial decision remained following a VAR check.
Maresca withdrew Estevao Willian and Pedro Neto in a double change. Yet the move proved costly, as United grabbed the opener on 14 minutes courtesy of Bruno Fernandes. Within 21 minutes, the Italian gaffer had already deployed three alterations, bringing on Andrey Santos for Cole Palmer.
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His choices triggered debate, and Chelsea ultimately fell to a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.
On Match of the Day, United icon Rooney declared: “They had no imagination on the pitch, did they? I felt that’s what was missing for Chelsea.
“They had a lot of possession side-to-side in the second half but they missed that creativity which, of course, Cole Palmer and [Pedro] Neto bring them so, I think the change was strange but thankfully, it helped [Man] United.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea legend Gary Cahill branded the alterations as rushed. “Our initial thought was that the second change from Enzo Maresca was quite reactive,” he told Sky Sports.
“You expect Estevao to go off so you can make one defensive substitution, but two was a little bit strange.”
Maresca subsequently revealed why he substituted Palmer, citing his ongoing groin complaint.
“He (Palmer) tried this morning. He had a test this morning to play this game,” explained Maresca. “He was not 100% fit. He made a fantastic effort to play this game, but he was not 100%.
“It’s a problem that is already a long time for him, his groin. Again, he did this morning a test. He wants to play this game for the team, to be close.
“So the effort has been huge from him. But then, after 20 minutes, he started to feel something, so we decided to change it.”
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