Chelsea defender shuts down two dangerous wide men and shows why Bayern want him | OneFootball

There was quite a lot of chatter about Enzo Maresca and his team selection before kick off on Sunday night, and there was plenty of frustration about his decision to once again deploy Reece James in midfield.

Chelsea fans don’t so much object to their captain playing there as they do to the way it means his place at right back is taken by Malo Gusto. The Frenchman has showed his quality plenty of times, but had a poor season overall, and isn’t popular with supporters right now.

ESPN hail Malo Gusto’s great showing front and back

Malo Gusto streaks down the flank. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

On Sunday he was immense however, proving his doubters wrong and Maresca very right for his decision. On ESPN they broke down the game and former Chelsea and France defender Frank Leboeuf praised Gusto in particular:

“Overall, there is nothing to complain about. Malo Gusto was able to cope with [Kvicha] Kvaratskhelia and [Nuno] Mendes at the same time with the help of his teammates. At the back, they were strong.”

You can see them discussing the defender in the clip embedded here:

Gusto shows why the likes of Bayern want him

It wasn’t just at the back that Gusto looked good. He set up the first goal with a brilliant overlapping run, and time and again ran the length of the pitch to get in behind Mendes and threaten PSG. When he plays like this – free from defensive responsibility in transition and with license to attack the byline and get in behind his opposition full back – he’s at his best and looks like the player we were all excited about 18 months ago.

The links to Bayern Munich and teams like that make a lot of sense as he would be able to play in that way all the time for a team which dominates its domestic league like that.