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7 hours ago
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Enzo Maresca is no stranger to playing players out of their natural position, but his latest experiment seems not to have gone down too well with former Arsenal star Ian Wright.
Maresca has been playing Chelsea star Moises Caicedo at right back lately, so that he can accommodate Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernadez in the Chelsea midfield. But the experiment does not bode well with Wright.
Though Caicedo usually puts in a shift even when he is played out of his natural position, he had an uncharacteristically bad outing against Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.
Caicedo’s performance was part of the reason why Chelsea slumped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat away from home that left their chances of qualifying for next year’s UEFA Champions League hanging by a thread.
Newcastle took an early lead through Sandro Tonali in the second minute of the game, and Nicolas Jackson’s sending off in the first half did not do the Blues any favours.
Though the Blues tried to make a fist off the game with ten men, a late goal from Bruno Guimaraes sealed their fate. And Wright was quick to call Maresca out on his tactics.
What Wright had to say about Maresca’s tactics against Newcastle United
Speaking on The Kelly & Wrighty Show, he said: “It is crazy when you look at who he’s got on the bench and why he’s doing that (playing Caicedo at right-back). You’re going to attack him all the time. Whatever he’s saying about getting into midfield and controlling it, you’ve got to get control of the game…"
“It all comes down to the manager. Unless something has happened with Reece James and Malo Gusto, I don’t know what’s happened. That, for me, is unacceptable… He’s making decisions that are very worrying, especially in that particular incident.”
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