Enzo Maresca: 'No Chelsea player reached the required level'

Coach Enzo Maresca acknowledged Chelsea’s disappointing display at Elland Road during their 1-3 loss to Leeds.

After a series of positive results, Chelsea came back down to earth with a poor showing at Elland Road. They conceded due to weak defensive plays, including a header from Jaka Bijol and a goal by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with Ao Tanaka’s stunning long-range strike in between. Pedro Neto came on and reduced the deficit after halftime, but Leeds scored a third following an individual error by Tosin Adarabioyo.

Maresca made two substitutions early in the second half, bringing on Neto and Malo Gusto for Benoit Badiashile and Estevao. The 18-year-old started brightly but received a yellow card for a rough foul on Gabriel Gudmundsson. Notably, this was the second consecutive match where Estevao was substituted at halftime, after being taken off midway through the draw against Arsenal last weekend.

Coach Enzo Maresca believes Estevao will learn valuable lessons after being taken off at halftime in the shocking 1-3 defeat to newcomers Leeds United, a match seen as a “welcome to the Premier League” for the young talent.

Coach Maresca commented after the match: “I think Estevao’s feeling today was like: ‘welcome to the Premier League, welcome to Leeds’. The impact of this game on him is probably significant. The reason we substituted him was because he had a yellow card. Sometimes at 18, managing emotions is very difficult, so it’s better to take him off to avoid a red card risk.”

The Italian coach accepted that Leeds dominated Chelsea throughout the match at Elland Road. Maresca said: “They were better than us in every aspect. They deserved to win. We can’t take anything positive from this game. The only thing the team can do is try to understand the mistakes made, then reset mentally, because in just 48 hours we have to play Bournemouth.”

“Today, no one performed at their best or played to their potential. The third goal almost ended all hope. In possession, without the ball, and in duels... they outclassed us.”

According to the schedule, Chelsea will visit Bournemouth on December 6, before facing Atalanta on December 10 in the Champions League.

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