Enzo Maresca names Chelsea star who played ‘really well’ in Aston Villa defeat

Enzo Maresca was disappointed after Chelsea’s ‘poor run’ continued against Aston Villa but was glad to see one tactical shift bear fruit. Enzo Fernandez’s early goal gave Chelsea a first-half lead at Villa Park but the hosts scored two second-half goals to win 2-1.

Marco Asensio scored both of Villa’s goals and fellow January signing Marcus Rashford recorded two assists in an impressive second-half cameo for Unai Emery’s side. It was Chelsea’s third defeat in four league games and Maresca admitted it was ‘tough’ to take as he felt his side deserved at least a point.

Maresca was, however, pleased with Pedro Neto’s performance after experimenting with the Wolves winger in a striker role in training this week. Neto started as a striker as Chelsea top goalscorer Nicolas Jackson remains injured and Christopher Nkunku struggled in that position in the successive defeats to Brighton.

‘It is a tough one,’ said Maresca. ‘Because compared to the game against Brighton, the performance and reaction were good. ‘At the moment, we are in a bad run. But we need to stick together and try to win games. I have a feeling we will go again if we win a game.

‘Until that, we need to work hard and try to get the win as soon as possible. We created many chances. Last two games, we struggled with that and lacked a threat. ‘Today, Pedro [Neto] played really well and we tried with him during the week. It works well with him. But we did not win and we have to be upset.

‘If you are not clinical, this league is always open – if you make a mistake, like we did in the second goal unfortunately. When we have the chance, we have to take that. ‘Once again today, we showed we can be good for long parts of the game. But that’s not enough. The performance has to be complete.

‘We need to score goals when we have the chance and defend well, but I thought we defended well today. It is a moment were we were also a bit unlucky.’. Aston Villa’s late winner came courtesy of a howler from Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who failed to keep out Asensio’s tame effort.

Maresca dropped Chelsea No. 1 Robert Sanchez for Jorgensen earlier in the month but faces a similar dilemma with the Denmark U21 international. Asked if he was concerned by the goalkeeping situation at Stamford Bridge, Maresca added: ‘I am always concerned, even when we were winning games, I was concerned. Now for sure.

‘The problem with that with goalkeepers, it is a delicate position and when they make a mistake, everyone can see. ‘Unfortunately today, our goalkeeper [Filip Jorgensen] made a mistake. This is a moment we need to support each other and try to stay strong.’.

The result means Chelsea stay sixth in the Premier League – one point outside the Champions League spots – while Aston Villa climb to seventh, one point behind Maresca’s side. Villa boss Emery said: ‘In the last match at home [against Liverpool], we were playing more or less good but it wasn’t enough. We can get points by playing well but also by trying to avoid mistakes.

‘Playing Chelsea today was a very good test. We started very badly – conceding the goal and not winning duels. But we were improving and in the second half, I was thinking we could be tired. ‘But we were confident and dominated the match more or less. The players did a fantastic job. That was our plan. We played 90 minutes very consistent and focussed on our game plan.

‘We had chances against Liverpool and Ipswich Town but we didn’t score so getting this victory today is very important. ‘Energy is very important. We were speaking in the dressing room at half-time we needed to recover energy. ‘On the field, they had to transmit energy and in the second half, they did it. They did everything. The impact players were fantastic.’.

For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Arrow MORE: Ian Wright claims Arsenal fans lacked ‘energy’ at the Emirates after West Ham defeat. Arrow MORE: Graham Potter praises ‘incredible’ Arsenal star after West Ham stun Gunners.