"We need him in his best form", "Enough of this" - Chelsea fans slam Enzo Maresca for benching key players against Fulham

Chelsea fans on X (formerly Twitter) slammed Enzo Maresca for benching Reece James for their Premier League game against Fulham on Saturday, August 30. They believe that the Englishman should have started over Malo Gusto to be ready for the upcoming big games this season.

Maresca went with an unchanged XI from the win over West Ham United last week. The Blues have Robert Sanchez in goal, with Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Marc Cucurella in the backline.

Moises Caicedo starts despite training just once during the week, with Enzo Fernandez in the middle of the pitch. Estevao Willian, who came in for Cole Palmer, keeps his place and will have compatriot Joao Pedro in the attacking midfield to support him, and Pedro Neto out wide on the left. Liam Delap leads the attack and will be looking to get his first goal in the Premier League for the Blues.

The Chelsea fans are happy with the team, but believe that Reece James should have been the only change. Here are some of the reactions:

chidı

@sslchidi

Why is this guy benching James?

blue religion

@ReligionBlue

Enough of this gusto gimmick start your captain please

NCF

@SorareNick

Expected other than Reece, strange one! I’ll guess a 3-1 at the bridge today.

UNIQUE

@CfcExcell

This is much expected apart from James being benched. But this system works better with Gusto plays as the right back.

Tyler M

@CFCAmericanNC

2 starts for Gusto in a row and James likewise on the bench? There’s protection but Maresca is wrapping Reece up with 2 or 3 Trojans 😅😂

seny

@seny_rr

Why don’t we start Reece James ? We need him in his best form but how he can be in his best form if he doesn’t play #Chelsea

Benoit Enjoyer

@m0_cfc

This amateur is killing reece james

The Blues were held to a goalless draw in the Premier League season opener against Crystal Palace, before the 5-1 win over West Ham United last week.

Enzo Maresca admits extended 2024/25 season is causing Chelsea issues

Enzo Maresca spoke about his injury issues at Chelsea and admitted that the extended 2024/25 season was showing effects on his players. He ruled out Cole Palmer for the Fulham match, adding to the list of players already out - Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia, and Benoit Badiashile.

The Blues manager also added that Moises Caicedo had trained just once in the buildup to the game after playing in the 5-1 win over West Ham United. He said:

"I don't think that it is random that our three players with the most minutes last year were Levi [Colwill], Cole and Moi [Caicedo]. Levi is injured, Cole too and Moi today only had his first training session since the West Ham game."

Maresca compared the importance of Palmer and Caicedo to Rodri at Manchester United and added:

"It is not random, it is the amount of games. Look at [Manchester] City last year, they lost Rodri after two or three games. He was a player that had the most minutes for them. We are going to have problems this season for sure because of last season. But It's about how we can adapt and get players to recover."

Chelsea are currently fourth in the Premier League table and can go to the top of the table for the time being with a win over Fulham.