Enzo Maresca hits back at Wayne Rooney criticism over Chelsea rotation | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has defended his selection policy against criticism from Wayne Rooney that he is rotating players too much.

The Blues made seven changes for Wednesday's disappointing 2-2 draw against Qarabag in Baku that saw them drop vital Champions League points, the fifth game in a row in which the Italian had made at least that number of changes.

In all this season, Chelsea have made 85 alterations to their line-ups in all competitions, far more than any other Premier League side. The next closest are Liverpool with 69.

Rooney used his BBC Sport show on Thursday to question whether players can build the relationships necessary to succeed when they rarely know who they will line up alongside from game to game.

Ahead of Chelsea's meeting with managerless Wolves on Saturday, Maresca stood by the decision to rest players and make full use of his squad, and pointed out that football has changed from the days when the former England and Manchester United forward played.

"We are in an era where anyone can say what they want," he said of Rooney's remarks. "Since I joined the club, it's my view to rotate players. No one complains when you win. When you don't win I can understand no one is agreeing.

Rooney made the comments on the 'Wayne Rooney Show' (The FA via Getty Images)

"I loved rotation as a player. Football is a bit different compared to years ago in terms of physicality and intensity. It's impossible to play with the same players 65 games in one season.

"You cannot say: 'why, years ago, was it possible?' Because it was different. It was not so physical. I played for 20 years. Now it's changed. You need to rotate.

"If you want to see the season like a marathon, when you are in February and March, the last sprint, you have to think in a different way. But it's a long race."

There was particular criticism directed at Maresca in Baku over his decisions in defence. It was the 10th game in a row that he had selected a different central-defensive pair, with 19-year-old Jorrel Hato at fault for both goals conceded.

"When the rotation is Andrey Santos, a Brazil international, and Jorrel Hato, Holland international, and Estevao, Brazil international, then it's not about rotation," he said. "They are talented, they are young. When they are young you have to give them chance to make mistakes.

"But when you don't win games, the problem is rotation."

Further changes for Saturday's game at Stamford Bridge are inevitable after Romeo Lavia was forced off early in Azerbaijan with yet another injury.

"We don't have an update at the moment," said Maresca. "We need to wait some hours to do all the checks that he needs. He is painful.

"It's a shame. We are tying to minimise minutes for him. But even with that he's injured again. We need to persist until we find the right solution."