Enzo Maresca risks the wrath of one Chelsea star’s father after controversial decision vs Flamengo

For many Chelsea supporters, Enzo Maresca did something very controversial in his side’s 3-1 defeat to Flamengo on Friday.

Maresca has Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Dario Essugo and Andrey Santos all available.

Yet it was defender Reece James who partnered Caicedo in midfield at Lincoln Financial Field.

Maresca has promised to give Santos a shot in the future, but that is unlikely to please the player’s father, who was desperate for him to feature against Flamengo.

Andrey Santos’ father was desperate to see him score against Flamengo

Before Santos joined Chelsea in 2023, the midfielder played for Vasco da Gama, who are Flamengo’s fierce rivals.

As a result, Vasco fans and Santos’ father were hoping to see the 21-year-old play and make an impact against Filipe Luis’ side.

In an interview with ESPN Brasil before the game, 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.

“Everyone is asking for a victory, my father is also very critical, he asked for a goal against Flamengo. If I have the opportunity, to do everything to come out victorious and, God willing, to be able to score a goal.”

Maresca, however, was in no mood to make any decisions based on sentiment and left Santos on the bench. The Italian did not even bring Santos on as a substitute, meaning that the Brazilian has yet to feature at this summer’s Club World Cup.

Caicedo has taken Santos under his wing at Chelsea, so his job now will be to make sure the youngster does not get too disheartened with his lack of game time in America so far.

Andrey Santos should have played against Flamengo or Los Angeles FC

Chelsea fans and Santos’ father have a right to be annoyed with Maresca for overlooking Santos.

While the Blues lost against Flamengo, neither the Brazilian club nor Los Angeles FC are elite opposition. These were not games that were too big for Santos.

The Brazil international also proved himself in a top European league last season after a successful loan spell at Strasbourg. He was arguably the best player in Liam Rosenior’s squad.

Ultimately, Maresca has missed a real opportunity to hand Santos his competitive Chelsea debut and start the embedding process with the former Vasco star.