Chelsea lost 2-1 at home to derby rivals Fulham after throwing away the advantage, and Enzo Maresca acknowledged that Chelsea had been given a hard lesson. At Stamford Bridge, Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz came off the bench to break the 45-year Fulham curse. Cole Palmer put them ahead early on, and the Blues were on track for their eighth victory in nine games to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool. But with eight minutes left, Wilson tied the score, and Muniz scored deep into stoppage time to give Fulham their first victory against their rivals in west London since 1979.
There had been no reports of injuries before the match, and Maresca subsequently affirmed that the winger is healthy. “Technical decision” was the only response the Italian coach, who substituted two goalkeepers, gave when asked to explain the situation. Those who had witnessed the player play well during training sessions were taken aback by the choice. The coach’s decision to leave him off the squad was questioned by many fans.
Maresca revealed that he dropped Madueke as a technical decision
The reason he wasn’t playing was because I didn’t like the way he trained. He starts to drop a little bit the moment he starts to score or assist and is happy. He must realize that every day he must train effectively. He must be driven. The Blues manager stated in August, prior to Madueke playing for Maresca in the Premier League, “I really like Noni.”
He probably has only one issue, which is that he needs to realize that he must be consistent throughout the week—at every session, at every single training. However, he is happy with us and plays well. Following Fulham’s two goals in the last ten minutes to cause the Blues to suffer just their third league loss of the season, Maresca lamented his team’s poor game management.
