Furious Enzo Maresca brutally punishes Chelsea stars after first-team players suffered embarrassing defeat by the UNDER-21s in training match
Enzo Maresca has cancelled a day off for his Chelsea first team after they flopped to a humiliating 3-0 defeat by the club’s U21s during Wednesday’s training session.
First-team players who were not on international duty were set to have Thursday off.
However, the Blues boss was so concerned with what he saw on the training ground, that he demanded his players to return to Cobham for an extra session.
Maresca will be desperate that Chelsea do not throw away their fine start to the season as their campaign enters the final run-in.
The Blues are fourth in the Premier League but the race for Champions League qualification is hotting up in a congested table with just five points separating Maresca’s side from Bournemouth in 10th.
Maresca had been training this week without the likes of captain Reece James and Enzo Fernandes who have been with their national teams.
Enzo Maresca is desperate to ensure Chelsea don’t slack off at the business end of the season
Donnell McNeilly scored twice as the Under 21s stunned the first team with a 3-0 victory
Marc Cucurella goes through his drills as players return from international duty on Friday
So, with a week to go until they host London rivals Tottenham, Maresca tested the remainder of his first-team squad against the U21s.
Blues boss Maresca was bitterly disappointed to see Chelsea’s youngsters outwork and outperform senior stars as a team made up of under-21 players, and even some from the under-16s, won 3-0 against a side whose core was first-teamers.
Donnell McNeilly scored twice, with Chizzy Ezenwata, 16, claiming the other.
A number of Chelsea’s international stars returned to training on Friday and the standards are believed to have been much higher.
