Enzo Maresca was forced to throw his tactical plan out the window in Saturday’s loss to Manchester United after a Robert Sánchez red card in the fifth minute forced the Italian boss into a multitude of changes.
To make matters worse, Cole Palmer had to be substituted early as well. While some thought it might have been another rash tactical decision after Maresca withdrew both Estêvão and Pedro Neto to make way for Filip Jörgensen and Tosin Adarabioyo, the manager revealed after the game that Palmer is still recovering from a groin injury suffered warming up earlier in the season against West Ham United.
“Cole he tried this morning. He had a test to play this game, he was not 100% fit,” Maresca said after the game. “He made a fantastic effort to play this game but he was not 100%. Yes it is a problem that he has already had for a long time, his groin. He wanted to play this game for the team, but after 20 minutes he started to feel something so we decided to change it.”
Palmer did feature midweek in the Champions League scoring on his 100th appearance as Maresca looks to manage his star’s fitness moving forward.
Chelsea conceded twice with 10 men on the pitch, but a Casemiro sending off gave the Blues some life. Trevoh Chalobah brought a goal back in the second half, but it was too little too late as they lost their first Premier League game of the young season.
