Maresca says he regrets not playing Chelsea youngster against Leeds – and denies lack of experience is an issue | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca says he regrets not playing Josh Acheampong in Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat to Leeds on Wednesday.

Chelsea had been in good form before the game, beating Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League and then getting a point against Arsenal despite playing much of the game with 10 men.

But speaking ahead of this weekend’s game against Bournemouth, Maresca says he regrets not playing Acheampong in defence.

“One of the regrets I have after the game is that I didn’t play with Josh,” he said.

“The reason why we played with Trevoh, Benoit and Tosin was because, analysing them, we saw most of the time they were playing long balls to Calvert-Lewin, for Nmecha, and so we preferred physicality in duels but even with that, we lost most of them.”

Maresca, however, denies that Chelsea are suffering from a lack of experience: “We are always talking about experience when we drop points but when we beat Barcelona and drew with Arsenal, no one is talking about experienced players.

“Again, I understand that when we don’t win, we are always looking for the reason why but I think the reason why we didn’t win against Leeds is not because of the experience, it’s because we were not good enough.

“We have experienced players, unfortunately they are not on the pitch, one because he was suspended and one because they have an injury. In that moment, the ones who have more experience, they are out.

“Who was the oldest one for us (against Leeds)? Tosin. Did he play good? So it is not about experience. It’s about the 11 players, they were not good enough. It was a bad game for all of us.”

The Italian says he is also aware that Bournemouth, who they play this Saturday, will likely be a very similar challenge to Leeds.

“Bournemouth will be a similar game to Leeds,” he said. “That is why we need to be better.

“They are intense and Leeds was very intense. I said after the game that they were better than us in all the aspects. Hopefully we can learn from that and be ready for tomorrow.”