Enzo Maresca shares what he told Tosin Adarabioyo seconds before Chelsea scored vs Club America
While results are far from crucial in pre-season friendlies, the new Chelsea manager will be delighted to get his first win under his belt.
Enzo Maresca led the Blues to a comfortable 3-0 victory against Club America, with them looking dominant in the first half in particular.
Marc Guiu, who has impressed in pre-season so far, found the net for the first time for his new club, after Christopher Nkunku carried on his run of scoring in every single game.
The Frenchman converted from the spot in the opening few minutes of their third friendly of the summer, however he did not have clear priority over the penalty.
In a moment mirroring one many Chelsea fans will be wanting to forget from last season, Noni Madueke seemed to grab the ball to take the penalty himself.
Maresca told Adarabioyo to get the ball off Noni Madueke before penalty
Defender Tosin Adarabioyo took the ball off him, with Maresca telling Football London that this was an instruction directly from him.
He said: “I have decided and this is the reason for the first one Chrstoph took the penalty and Noni was close to taking it, but I told Tosin to tell Noni that Christo has to take the penalty. I am the guy who decides who shoots the penalty and not the players.”
Madueke got his chance from 12 yards in the second half, with him dispatching cooly to leave no doubt in the result for the Blues.
Palmer competing with Madueke
However, Chelsea supporters will be far from pleased to see another disagreement over who is taking a penalty, after Cole Palmer almost had one taken off him at Stamford Bridge last season by the same player.
Nevertheless, Madueke put in a performance to the standard that he really needed to do after his personal rough start to pre-season.
His place in the side for the opening Premier League game of the season is likely to be under threat from Cole Palmer, who will be back with his teammates by then after enjoying his rest following Euro 2024.
from Latest Chelsea News and Updates - The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/H8nva0L
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