“We thought…” – Maresca explains the gameplan Cole Palmer loved which beat PSG | OneFootball

Chelsea beat PSG 3-0 in the Club World Cup last night, and it was a superb performance from soup to nuts.

The Blues dominated from start to finish, and got great performances out of every player on the pitch. It was a complete team effort. It needed to be, to beat this super strong PSG team.

There was one nifty tweak in particular which gave Enzo Maresca’s team the edge, however. The coach put Cole Palmer on the right with Malo Gusto overlapping, which overloaded PSG the space behind Nuno Mendes.

It worked a treat, with all 3 Chelsea goals coming from that side. The manager was asked about his tweak in the press conference after the game.

Enzo Maresca explains his winning tweak

Cole Palmer scores against PSG. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

“They have three midfielders and two of them were in charge of Reece and Moi. Vitinha was in charge of Enzo,” the former Leicester coach explained.

“We thought it was a good chance to exploit the space with Cole and Malo. It was the game plan. We try to help the players be in positions where they can give everything. It’s been the effort from all the team, all the players. I’m very happy for them. They deserve this moment.”

Maresca hails “top, top achievement” as his Blues beat PSG

Maresca also had some thoughts about the tournament as a whole, and his team’s superb performance against the world’s very best:

“Fantastic. As you said, Club World Cup champion, we have to be proud. We are very happy, especially against PSG. I consider them the best team in the world, fantastic players and with one of the best managers in the world. Top, top achievement.”

What a performance from the players, and what a game plan from the coach.