Manager has special praise for “very good” fourth choice player who has stepped up in recent games | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has just had his press conference following Chelsea’s draw with Everton at Goodison Park, and given the final score was 0-0, you won’t be surprised to hear that he focused his praise on his defenders.

The coach insisted his team had played well – in fact he claimed he preferred their performance today to the one they put in against Brentford a week ago in a game they won 2-1.

Today they didn’t create enough chances – and just didn’t take the ones they did create. But they were solid at the back against a super physical Everton team, playing at home in tough conditions. One player who did really well was Tosin Adarabioyo, who has looked a lot better in recent weeks after stepping up to first team action while Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana are out.

Today the former Fulham defender made a crucial block at the end that stopped a disappointing draw turning into a heart-breaking loss, and Maresca praised his efforts along with the rest of the defence:

“Tosin was very good. All the players defensively were very good. Clean sheet, we don’t concede. Happy for them.”

Maresca also had some kind words for his goalkeeper, who also made crucial interventions to keep the gam level:

“I think Robert did one save first-half and then the second-half he did one more. We are happy with Robert, for sure. He is there to help us when we need him.”

Chelsea fix one problem but fail at the other end

Enzo Maresca left frustrated on the sidelines at Everton. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

All too often this season a lack of clean sheets has cost us. This time, the cruel irony was that we did keep a clean sheet, but failed to score for the first time since the opening day of the season.