Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca admitted he’s encouraging Enzo Fernandez to get into the opposition penalty area more often in order to be more of a goal threat.
The Argentine midfielder was Chelsea’s match winner at a wet and windy Leicester City, assisting Nicolas Jackson’s 15th minute opener before sealing the three points with a goal of his own late in the second half.
Fernandez hasn’t been assured of a starting place this season, battling Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to be one of Chelsea’s two central midfielders, but staked his claim for a more regular berth with a player of the match display.
The goal was Fernandez’s eighth in Chelsea colours and first in 16 appearances this season – prompting Maresca to reveal after the game that he’s trying to tweak the 23-year-old’s role in a bid to get him further up the field.
“Today, I thought, was the right game to use Enzo, even if he was back [late] from international duty. I think he did very well,” Maresca said.
“I’m trying to convince Enzo [to play] in the same way as I did last year with Ndidi and Kiernan, that attacking midfielders need to arrive in the box. The reason why he scored today was because he was inside the box.
“And, if he was outside of the box, he wouldn’t have scored the goal. We are happy in the way Enzo is doing.”
Fernandez’s outstanding performance was complemented by another strong showing from Jackson up front. The Senegalese international now has ten goal contributions to his name from 12 Premier League appearances this season – seven goals and three assists – and was again crucial to Chelsea’s free-flowing forward play.
“For me, he is doing very well. I have said many times, since we started, he is working hard on the ball and off the ball. He is making an effort to understand the way we want to play,” Maresca remarked of Jackson.
“Sometimes we use him almost as a midfielder, dropping. Sometimes we use him attacking in behind. If you remember Brighton, or even today. It depends on the game-plan.
“We are very happy with the way Nico is playing on the ball but especially in the way he is playing off the ball – the way he is pressing. In this moment, we are very happy and we are sure he is going to get better game after game.”
