Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said his game plan forced him to leave Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson out of his starting lineup for the highly anticipated West London Derby against Brentford on Sunday.
The announcement of the team sheets took many Blues supporters by surprise, as both Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson have been pivotal players in recent matches. In a strategic move, Maresca opted for a revised lineup after Chelsea’s narrow 1-0 victory over Tottenham just days earlier.
In addition to Palmer and Jackson being bench players for this match, notable absences included Pedro Neto, Marc Cucurella, and Levi Colwill, all of whom were relegated to the substitutes’ bench.
This decision appears to reflect Maresca’s foresight, considering the team’s upcoming challenge in the UEFA Conference League quarter-final first leg against Legia Warszawa scheduled to take place in Poland on Thursday.
Maresca defended his choices, stating, “It’s the game plan. The ones that are starting, I think, are going to be the right ones.”
Note that the Premier League game ended in a 0-0 draw. Despite the setback, Chelsea remained in the top four with 53 points in 31 games, four points below third-placed Nottingham Forest, and the London side are 20 points below first-placed Liverpool.
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