“We did” – Enzo Maresca reveals reason behind substitutions he made against Brighton | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has once again explained his substitutions after coming under fire for the decisions he made against Brighton on Saturday.

The Blues slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge despite being 1-0 up and in control, meaning it’s now back to back defeats in the league.

For the second week running a player was sent of, this time Trevoh Chalobah, and once again Chelsea folded in the face of adversity.

Enzo Maresca explains his substitutions

Enzo Fernandez had given Chelsea a 1-0 lead at half time, and Maresca’s men had limited Brighton to absolutely nothing in the first half.

However, the game changed when Trevoh Chalobah got sent off after Andrey Santos lost the ball in a dangerous position, and Maresca believes there’s a lack of experience in the squad.

Chalobah was sent off against Brighton in the second half. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

As was the case against Manchester United last weekend, Maresca went defensive with his changes which invited unnecessary pressure onto the team.

Danny Welbeck equalised, and it appeared Chelsea might hold on for a draw, but the Blues conceded twice in added time as they once again made defensive errors.

Maresca was criticised for his substitutions, and after the match he explained why he made the decisions he did.

“We did the first change that was Josh for the red card for Andrey [Santos], because we needed a central defender, then the reason why Malo [Gusto] came on was just because Minteh was many times one-v-one with Reece, so we tried to give Reece help in that situation to defend the two-v-one,” he told his pre-match press conference.

“And then the last change, Jorrel was asking for a change because he had cramp.”

Chelsea face a huge week

Having slumped to back to back defeats in the Premier League, Chelsea face a huge week before the international break.

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Benfica and Jose Mourinho visit Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night in the Champions League, before Liverpool visit next weekend.

Chelsea desperately need positive results in both games, and things could start to turn nasty if they suffer any more defeats.