Enzo Maresca praises “very good” player who will get “better and better” after Benfica win

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·1 Oktober 2025

Enzo Maresca praises “very good” player who will get “better and better” after Benfica win

Enzo Maresca admitted he was impressed with the performance of Alejandro Garnacho on his first appearance at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues ground out a 1-0 win against Benfica as they recorded their first three points in the Champions League this season after suffering defeat to Bayern Munich in their opening match.

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It wasn’t pretty from Chelsea, but having lost two of their last three games, the win was the only thing that mattered.

Enzo Maresca praises Alejandro Garnacho performance

Maresca made several changes from the team that lost to Brighton, with Garnacho handed hist first start at Stamford Bridge since joining from Manchester United in the summer.

Garnacho was involved in the key moment of the game as he cut back Pedro Neto’s cross which was turned into his own net by Richard Rios.

The Argentine worked hard, and showed some good moments on the ball, although fans would have expected to see more.

Garnacho started his first game at Stamford Bridge against Benfica. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

It’s still early days and Garnacho will no doubt improve, but Maresca was impressed as he praised the 21-year-old after the game.

“Yes, tonight we start with Garna, that probably was the first game that he started,” he told his post match press conference.

“Ty is a No.9, and we know that he’s not a No.9. Facu Buonanotte played an important role tonight.

“That’s why for me tonight it’s a nice feeling that it was important to win for different reasons.

“Injuries and the players that they are new with us. Garna was very good. I think [Jamie] Gittens also, he tried in the last 20 minutes when he was on. Both are going to be better and better game after game.”