‘Did very well’: Enzo Maresca says he’s delighted with what he saw from £25m Chelsea player vs Wrexham

It’s yet the start of another era at Stamford Bridge, this time with Enzo Maresca as the club’s new head coach.

Christopher Nkunku broke the deadlock for the Premier League side with his goal in the first-half versus Wrexham. Meanwhile, Lesley Ugochukwu finished the scoring late on to level it at 2-2 to avoid defeat.

It was the first chance for Chelsea supporters to get a glimpse of what life will be like under Maresca.

Speaking via Chelsea’s website recently, Nkunku said Maresca’s training is mainly ball-based. You could see even in the opening match of pre-season that the Blues will try to dominate possession next year.

Enzo Maresca delighted with Robert Sanchez

Chelsea boss Maresca did give praise to Robert Sanchez, 26, for his individual display this week.

The Spanish goalkeeper played the opening 45 minutes for the Blues against Wrexham before wholesale changes at the interval when the score was 1-0.

“Robert did very well tonight,” Maresca said in his post-match press conference, as quoted by Football.London.

“For sure, the way we want to play, the goalkeeper is very important. I am very happy with Robert.”

Sanchez, who cost Chelsea £25m (BBC) last year, ended up losing his starting position last season as the number one goalkeeper. It looks like a change of management is working in his favour, though.

A recent report by The Athletic said that Sanchez is expected to begin next season in Chelsea’s XI.

Robert Sanchez match statistics

FotMob data has provided the individual stats from Sanchez’s first half of football this summer.

There’s a big reliance on the goalkeeper to play out in a Maresca XI, something he did fairly comfortably in a relatively quiet 45 minutes against Wrexham.

• Minutes played – 45
• Match rating – 6.4
• Accurate passes – 16/18 (89%)
• Accurate long balls – 1/3 (33%)
• Saves – 1
• Goals conceded – 0
• Recoveries – 4
• Acted as sweeper – 1

Related Topics