“The reason why…” – Maresca explains why he keeps bringing up player in press conferences

As always when you have a big game on Sky Sports, there was an in depth chat with the managers released on the day of the game, and we’ve now got this week’s edition.

One of the most interesting parts of Enzo Maresca’s chat with Patrick Davidson was his discussion about Noni Madueke. Madueke has been the figurehead of Maresca’s man management in his time at Chelsea.

He’s been very kind and complimentary, but also happy to criticise him publicly, leave him out of the team for tactical reasons, and even punish him for poor training performances.

But the Italian coach never goes overboard, and is always careful to make sure there’s at least as much carrot as stick on offer.

You can see Maresca talking about his winger in the clip embedded here:

“The reason why I spoke many times about Noni, is because I consider him a top player. And the only thing I want from top players is the best from them. And this is the reason why many I times I mention Noni,” Maresca explained when asked why the England winger was such a common topic in his press conferences.

“But also in terms of numbers, I think he scored already 6 goals in the Premier League, he did many different assists. So in terms of numbers he’s doing fantastic. I think it’s just his second [full] Premier League season. He’s 22, very young, so he can only improve. But he need to do the right things.”

Madueke needed more than ever today

We need Madueke to step up again today. For all their quality, Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho aren’t delivering the goals and assists that the former PSV man has, and today we need his clinical edge in front of goal if we’re to win any points off Man City.