Enzo Maresca defends decision to drop Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson as Chelsea draw 0-0 to Brentford

Chelsea supporters were left with plenty of questions for manager Enzo Maresca following the Blues’ 0-0 draw with Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The manager will no doubt have been looking for a similar performance to the one his side pulled out against Tottenham on Thursday night, although named a very different side to the one who started at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca decided to bench the likes of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson for the short trip across West London, giving a number of fringe players the opportunity they have been waiting for in the Premier League.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was handed just his second Premier League start, although the performance of Christopher Nkunku was underwhelming in the striker role.

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Enzo Maresca defends not starting Cole Palmer during Chelsea vs Brentford

Every Premier League game is crucial for the Blues at this stage of the season. They could very easily be out of the Champions League places by the time the weekend’s football is over.

Maresca defended his decision to bench some of his most important players though after the game, saying his idea was to finish the game strong, something Chelsea certainly did do.

He said to Football London: “The reason why is we played Thursday night and not all of them were 100%. The idea was to start in one way and finish another way. The plan almost worked. I’m here to try and do the best for the club and the players. I work every day with the players so I see how they are.”

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Chelsea fans growing frustrated with Enzo Maresca

The travelling Chelsea supporters had very little to cheer about at Brentford. One of the loudest receptions came when Palmer was introduced off the bench.

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Blues fans aimed frustrated chants at their team after a very indifferent opening to the game, with them begging for some attacking impotence from those on the pitch.

Given how electric Stamford Bridge was for the big win against Spurs, it feels a wasted chance for the Blues to have taken a real step towards qualifying for the Champions League.

With two games in three days to come again next week, it will be interesting to see if Maresca makes the same decision to rotate heavily between matches.

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