Enzo Maresca has frustrated some Chelsea supporters with his decision not to use Andrey Santos in either of the Blues’ first two Club World Cup games.
Chelsea played Flamengo on Friday evening, losing 3-1 to the Brazilian side, and Santos was an unused substitute.
The midfielder also failed to appear in his team’s Club World Cup opener against Los Angeles FC on Monday.
Moises Caicedo looks ready to play alongside Santos after revealing that the two are already close, but it looks like Maresca has other ideas.
Enzo Maresca promises Andrey Santos will get chance
For the time being, Chelsea’s head coach is likely to continue using Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia and Reece James in midfield.
However, going forward, he has promised Chelsea fans that they will get an opportunity to see Santos in action.
Speaking about his midfield selection following the Blues’ defeat to Flamengo, Maresca said: “There are always things you can do better, even when you win, not only lose. In terms of players, we tried to choose the right ones for the game plan. We chose Reece, he was good for 60 minutes, like the rest. Dario [Essugo] and Andrey will have chances in the future.”
This is not the first time that James has been used out of position. Maresca also used James in midfield last season, while Thomas Tuchel deployed the 25-year-old at left-back in England’s recent 1-0 win against Andorra.
Tuchel’s decision to start James at left-back did not go down well with the English media, while plenty of Chelsea supporters have also not reacted positively to their captain playing in midfield instead of Santos.
Why Andrey Santos was desperate to play against Flamengo
All in all, Santos would have been extremely disappointed not to have played against Flamengo.
Flamengo are the rivals of the 21-year-old’s former club Vasco da Gama, so it was a game that he was really geared up for.
Speaking to ESPN Brasil ahead of the match, Santos said: “The pressure is great. I receive a lot of messages from Vasco fans on Instagram, there is also pressure from my friends, from my father, so I think I am under a lot of pressure regarding the result, but I hope everything goes well.”
In the end, Chelsea were dominated by Flamengo and thoroughly deserved to lose. Considering that, perhaps they could have done with Santos. Santos is obviously no stranger to Brazilian football and is a midfielder who is capable of stopping attacks.
As per FBref, the Brazil international made the most tackles in Ligue 1 last season, registering 110 in total.
