“We try every game…” – Enzo Maresca defends his rotation policy as Chelsea prepare for tough week | OneFootball

Chelsea play their first Champions League game of the season tomorrow, and that meant a first Champions League press conference for Enzo Maresca tonight.

Chelsea boss on raised confidence level after cup success

Reece James lifts the Conference League trophy. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

One issue Maresca was asked about was the confidence his group had gained from their successive wins in the Conference League and then the Club World Cup. He was absolutely convinced that it had helped his young, inexperienced team increase their level and gain confidence.

“Absolutely, yes. When you win a game, it helps to improve confidence, different things, different aspects,” the Blues boss asserted.

“Knowing that every game is different, every competition is different. As I said, Bayern at this moment is probably one of the favourites, but we are going to try to do our best.”

Maresca addresses potential rotation issues

One major issue that Maresca could have is with squad rotation. Last year he was able to play a B team in the Conference League and win the whole thing. Now he will need his strongest team midweek and at the weekend. It will be a blend of first team and backups in all competitions now, and the coach was asked how he would handle those decisions:

“We try [to pick our strongest team] every game, even against Brentford. We try with our best XI. Game by game we are going to manage different problems,” the coach explained.

“As I said in the last game, Cole was not 100% fit to play 90 minutes. Different players were out. Tomorrow we are going to try to put our best XI for tomorrow’s game. Cole, three days away, didn’t play from the start because he was not able to do that. We’ll see tomorrow.”

Indeed we will.