Enzo Maresca lauds ‘fantastic’ Chelsea duo following Leicester City win | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca picked out Chelsea pair Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez for praise after inspiring the team to victory at Leicester City on Saturday.

Fernandez teed up Nicolas Jackson for the opener before the Senegal international returned the favour when his second-half shot rebounded off the goalkeeper and onto the head of his teammate.

Jordan Ayew converted from the spot in the 95th minute after the Foxes were awarded a late penalty, but Chelsea held on for the win and remain third in the Premier League table.

“Good performance, overall we deserved to win. It was also a good game to learn many things,” Maresca told BBC Sport.

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“For the first 30 minutes we were in complete control of the game and then started to make some mistakes and lost some control. In the last 10 minutes of the first half we started to be a bit sloppy. This is something we can learn that in football you can’t drop anything.”

Jackson has begun the season in fine form, scoring seven goals and adding three assists in 12 Premier League appearances for the Blues, but Maresca is especially pleased with the striker’s work off the ball.

“Since we started he’s doing fantastic,” he said. “Everyone is watching the goals and assists but the way he works off the ball and presses, he’s doing very well.”

Fernandez was handed his first start since the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on 6 October and took his opportunity with both hands.

“Enzo is doing fantastic since we started,” Maresca said. “The game plan requires different types of players for every day. Today was a game for Enzo.”

It was the Italian’s first time returning to the King Power Stadium since leaving Leicester City in the summer to succeed Mauricio Pochettino in the dugout. “It’s been a pleasure to see old friends and good people.”

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