Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says the fringe players in their “bloated” squad are giving him selection headaches following their recent performances.
The Italian made significant changes to the Blues’ starting line up, handing starts to the likes of Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto and Mykhailo Mudryk as they overcame League Two side Barrow 5-0 in the League Cup Third round on Tuesday.
Nkunku scored a hat-trick, while Neto also hit the target and Maresca says performances like that makes his selection process a bit more difficult.
“Yes. I’m very happy with the performance and with the result,” Maresca stated. “As you said, we did many changes but the idea from the team was exactly the same and this has to be one of our targets.
“I’m happy. I’m happy for Pedro [Neto] , I’m happy for Christopher [Nkunko] and for Joao [Felix]. I’m happy for all of them. Because I’ve said already many times, they all deserve to play from the start in the Premier League.
“They are not playing in this moment but the way that they take their chances when we give them some minutes, it’s fantastic. No matter if it’s five minutes, 45 minutes, 90 minutes. They all are ready.
“But this is the most important thing for me that they make my choice difficult. That means that they are all doing well and this is a key point and a key thing that we need to continue on that.”
The Blues were rampant at Stamford Bridge to make it three straight wins in as many games in all competitions with nine goals scored. They will be back in action in the Premier League this weekend when they host Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, September 28.
