Chelsea's unpopular transfer decision that fans are getting on board with | OneFootball

Alejandro Garnacho justifying £40m pricetag after underwhelming reaction to move from Manchester United

It needed Enzo Maresca to throw on the regular crew from the bench for Chelsea to finally wear the League One leaders down, but their performances off the bench was just what the Italian had hoped for, as Garnacho netted twice either side of Pedro Neto’s deflected effort.

“These are the kinds of games where I fall in love even more with the players, because it is easy to slip [up],” Maresca said. With a brace, Garnacho ensured that slip-up never came.

Alejandro Garnacho was named man of the match against Cardiff

AFP via Getty Images

It will not just be Maresca who took pleasure in Garnacho’s two composed side-foot finishes. The Chelsea hierarchy, too, will have been delighted by his man-of-the-match performance. This sort of impact helped to justify his £40million arrival from Manchester United, which happened two days before the transfer deadline and took Chelsea’s summer spending to almost £300m.

There were some within the Chelsea fanbase who looked on cynically when the club moved to sign Garnacho, who had been told by Ruben Amorim that he had no future at Old Trafford. Plenty felt it was a case of the Chelsea owners snapping up an out-of-form player for below market rate, rather than because of a strong desire to sign the 21-year-old for what he could bring to the team.

But whatever the intentions, the consequences have been encouraging. Garnacho has four goals and two assists since signing for the club he described upon arrival as “the best in the world”. Half of those strikes came against Cardiff, when he played off the shoulder of the Cardiff back-line and used his devastating pace to good effect.

He has looked bright in a lot of his outings for Chelsea this term but end product and a clinical edge in the final third have often been lacking - the missing piece of the jigsaw. In the Welsh capital, no such concerns, as he won the match for a Chelsea team at risk of stalling after Maresca had made wholesale changes from Saturday’s 2-0 win over Everton in the Premier League.

Alejandro Garnacho scored two goals in Wales

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

It is especially notable that Garnacho was so influential from the left wing. It is this position where he has played the bulk of his game time this season and sits just ahead of Jamie Gittens in Maresca’s pecking order. His lead in that particular standing only grew on the night. Gittens was frustrating and often miscontrolled the ball by overcomplicated his footwork. Garnacho came on, took the game by the scruff of the neck and netted twice.

Garnacho, often a starter in the bigger competitions, was similarly proud of his role this time as an impact sub.

“They brought me on and I tried to help the team,” he said. “Me, Pedro [Neto] and the rest of the players did that. Sometimes you have to start games and sometimes you have to help from the bench. We don't focus on this, we just try to help the team.”

He certainly did that. And as he perched on the advertising hoarding and took in the rapturous celebrations of Chelsea’s travelling supporters, you could detect the fanbase beginning to take to their No49.