Assist may help under fire Chelsea winger keep his place under Enzo Maresca | OneFootball

Noni Madueke took advantage of an England squad depleted by injuries and withdrawals last night by starring in a strong showing against Greece.

The Chelsea star was a starter for Lee Carsley’s team in Athens, with England knowing the dubious honour of topping their Nations League group was on the line. But Madueke looked fired up to be playing for his country, despite the tournament not being the most prestigious, and he put in a real shift.

He beat his man badly within ten minutes and put a ball on a plate for Ollie Watkins to score. He continued to be one of his team’s most dangerous players throughout the first half in particular. He was able to show off his dynamic dribbling to break apart defences even on home turf.

It’s a good rebuttal for the winger after some bad press following the Arsenal game last weekend. When subbed off, the winger went straight down the tunnel and even missed his team’s equaliser, in a move that’s been widely criticised by pundits like Rio Ferdinand, and all over the shop, in fact..

Levi Colwill and Noni Madueke playing for England U21 (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Madueke makes case for continued minutes under Maresca

Madueke’s form for Chelsea has been questioned in recent weeks as his bright start has faded away. As people try to figure out a way of fitting Enzo Fernandez into the midfield, or Christopher Nkunku into the attacking line, Madueke is often the player sacrificed in their theoretical XI. But he remains a regular for Enzo Maresca for now due to his defensive work rate and the way he’s taken the coach’s message on board, and a strong performance for England showing he can still do damage in the final third will only help his cause at club level too.