'No, no, no': Enzo Maresca shares why he didn't sub Cole Palmer on in Chelsea's Carabao Cup loss to Newcastle

Chelsea went out with a bit of a whimper in all honesty in the Carabao Cup last night as they were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.

Despite beating the same opposition at Stamford Bridge at the weekend, Enzo Maresca’s heavily rotated side did not have the same joy last night.

Mykhailo Mudryk did impress with his performance on the left-wing, however he is one of the few if not the only one who can say he did.

Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images

Chelsea fans called for Axel Disasi to be sold after his nightmare performance, where he started the game on the right of defence.

Enzo Maresca kept Cole Palmer on the bench because of Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku

All the changes made to the side meant that superstar Cole Palmer did not start, although unlike for games in the Conference League he did travel with the squad and was named on the substitutes bench.

Considering some believe Palmer to be the best player in the Premier League, there are perhaps some questions to be asked as to why he didn’t see any minutes in a tie that was not beyond saving in the second half.

Maresca stated after the game that he believed the strong performances of Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix were why he felt comfortable not bringing the former Manchester City man on.

He said to Football London: “No, no, no. Simply because I think Joao [Felix] and Christo [Nkunku] were doing very good. The reason why [we brought him] was in case we needed Cole but Joao and Christo were doing well so there was no need to change.”

Chelsea the first side to play Manchester United in the Premier League since Erik ten Hag’s sacking

The positive now is that Palmer will be fresh and ready to go for the huge game at the weekend against Manchester United.

The trip to Old Trafford just got a whole lot harder for Chelsea after the news that Erik ten Hag had been sacked following a poor start to the season.

As a boyhood United fan, Palmer will be hoping to make an impression in Manchester this weekend, as Chelsea look to pick up their first huge win on the road this season.

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