Maresca admits Chelsea star is ‘struggling’ and explains why he made changes in draw with Brentford | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku is working hard to turn things around after another difficult afternoon for the Blues.

Chelsea drew 0-0 with west London rivals Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium in a blow to their Champions League qualification hopes.

Nkunku started the game instead of striker Nicolas Jackson, who has only just returned from six weeks out with a hamstring injury, but the Frenchman was taken off at half-time in place of Chelsea team-mate Jackson.

Maresca, however, insists Nkunku’s struggles are not down to a lack of effort.

He said: “No, I think it’s just a game. I don’t think it’s a lack of effort because at the end I can see Christo every day and he’s working well.

“Sometimes probably he wants to give more during a game and he struggles a little bit, but for sure I don’t think it’s a lack of effort.”

Explaining why he was taken off so early, Maresca continued: “Our team was getting better and better. because we tried to keep the ball, they ran and after 45 minutes, one hour, they could be tired.

“So we expect to improve in the second half. In terms of Christo, I always say the same. When they work hard and they give everything, it’s not a problem.”

Maresca sprung a few surprises with his team selection against Brentford, including naming Cole Palmer, Marc Cucurella and Levi Colwill on the bench alongside Jackson.

But the Blues boss says it was because of an “intense” game against rivals Spurs on Thursday.

“The reason why is because we played Thursday night, so not all of them were 100%,” he said.

“So the idea was to start in one way and to finish in the other way. The plan nearly worked because, as you said, second half, the last half an hour, probably we created a little bit more.

“But I think overall the volume between first half and second half has been enough to win the game.”

The draw means Chelsea could drop down to fifth should Man City beat Man Utd, and are just two points ahead of Aston Villa after their win against Nottingham Forest.

But Maresca insisted he was happy with what he saw from his team as they enter their crucial end of season run-in.

“I think overall we played a good game,” he said.

“We prepared the game in the way the game was, in terms of starting one way and finishing the other way. We played Thursday night, demanding game, 24 hours less than them. Tricky stadium, tricky game. Sunny day, the pitch was dry. They tried to kill the tempo of the game, so for me it was a complete game.

“But overall, as I said, I think we did enough to win the game. We shot more than 20 times and probably the only thing we missed has been the goal, but overall happy with the performance.”