Enzo Maresca explains his surprising lineup decision made 2 hours before kick off | OneFootball

Tonight’s Chelsea team news is out, and apart from the crazy attacking setup, there’s only one thing everyone is interested in: the debut of Tyrique George.

The youngster has been working his way into the reckoning, coming on as a sub in our last match in this competition, and now his time has come for a senior start.

Maresca spoke about the decision to start George, as well as how he had informed the 18 year old that his moment had come.

“I’m happy for him, he did well when he played some minutes with us at Panathinaikos so this is a chance for him and hopefully he can help us. Hopefully he can play a good game and help us.”

“I told him just two hours before, it’s sometimes better to tell them closer to the game but it depends. Hopefully he can play a good game and help us.”

It’s interesting he claims to have only told George two hours ago – we’ve had whispers about it all day.

Tyrique George in action against Panathinaikos. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

Maresca pleads for caution from young and attacking Chelsea team

Overall, Maresca preached caution to his players, reminding them there are no easy games in Europe:

“It is a tricky game because everyone expects an easy game but in football you need to do the right things to win the game. It’s European competition so the motivation is there. For them, the motivation is the game but we have to deal with that.”

It’s a very reasonable statement, although it’s hard to take him too seriously when he’s picked a team consisting of a striker, two wingers, two numbers tens and an attacking 8.

Still, despite Maresca’s warning, this is not a good team we’re playing, and it should be a perfect moment for a debut.