Enzo Maresca was delighted to see his team maintain their high levels of performance despite making 11 changes, with particular praise for his attacking players and the teenagers who came off the bench.
The wholesale changes our head coach made for Tuesday evening’s Carabao Cup third round tie against Barrow, without a single player retaining their place from Saturday’s win over West Ham United, paid off handsomely as we booked our place in the next round with a comprehensive 5-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
Christopher Nkunku fired in a hat-trick, Joao Felix impressed and converted a free-kick – albeit via the post and the keeper’s back – and Pedro Neto scored in a Chelsea shirt for the first time, making it an almost perfect day at the office for the Blues.
It was the way the players coming in were able to pick right up to continue where their team-mates had left off at the weekend which impressed Maresca the most.
‘I’m very happy with the performance, with the result,’ said the Italian. ‘We made many changes but the idea from the team was exactly the same and this has to be one of our targets. No matter who is going to play, it’s important that the identity of the team is always there.
‘With this kind of game I’m always worried a lot, because they are tricky games and football is full of these games. When you underestimate the opponent you can concede chances and goals, but tonight I think the performance was very good and we showed how serious we are.
‘Before the game I asked the players that even if we are the youngest squad in the Premier League, they have to show how serious we are. For me the most important thing tonight was winning the game, but also sending a message that yes, we are young, but we are men, we are serious and we want to compete.’
The way our attacking players grabbed their opportunity with both hands also left Maresca confident of making changes again in the future.
He explained: ‘It depends a little bit also on the moment of the season. Sometimes you can have injuries and different kinds of problems. In this moment we are all available apart from Romeo [Lavia] and Reece [James], so if we have the chance we try to share minutes with all of them.
‘I am happy for Pedro, I am happy for Christo and Joao, all of them. They all deserve to play from the start in the Premier League but they are not playing in this moment.
‘But the way they take their chances when we give them some minutes is fantastic. No matter if it is five minutes, 45 minutes or 90 minutes, they are all ready and that is the most important thing.
‘This is the most important thing for me, that they make my choice difficult. That means they are all doing well. This is a key point that we need to continue like that.’
Maresca also had praise for two teenagers who came on to make just their second senior appearance for the Blues.
‘I was happy with Tyrique [George] and with Josh [Acheampong], I thought they both did very well,’ our head coach said.
‘In these types of games, for them it was important to be brave, don’t be shy. It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake, that’s football. They both did very good. Tyrique missed a chance but then he created another one for himself.
‘I really liked the way Josh showed himself with the ball, stepped in, was brave and showed personality. I am happy for both of them.’
