2 weeks Ago By The Telegraph
Enzo Maresca might want to dip into Gareth Southgate’s football lexicon to find the best term to describe his substitutes. Southgate preferred to refer to his England substitutes as ‘finishers’ and there has been evidence already this season that head coach Maresca views his Chelsea bench similarly. Chelsea’s substitutes have contributed to four goals in the Premier League so far this season, which is second only to Aston Villa, who made four more changes across the first four games.
Saturday’s opponents West Ham United have managed one goal contribution from the substitutes’ bench, having chalked up only four over the course of last term, which was the worst return in the top flight. It might be early days, but Chelsea’s substitutes have already registered a third of the total goal contributions they managed in the entire league campaign last season and it is clearly an area where there was room for improvement. Already, there is a sense that if Chelsea can stay in games come the final 20 minutes or so then the substitutes – or ‘finishers’ as Southgate would call them – could be the difference for Maresca.
Against Bournemouth last Saturday night, it was Jadon Sancho, a half-time substitute, who , on in the 79th minute, to score the winning goal. Joao Felix scored after stepping off the bench in the 6-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Pedro Neto registering an assist as a substitute against his former club. Chelsea might be light on out-and-out strikers, but there is no shortage of attacking talent and potential match-winners for Maresca to choose from.
Given the options he has, it is likely that Maresca will often have three of Neto, Felix, Nkunku, Sancho and Noni Madueke available to him from the substitutes’ bench, plus Mykhailo Mudryk who continues to be a source of frustration. Four of those players have already contributed from the bench, while as a starter against Wolves and proved he can make an impact as a substitute on his England debut by setting up a goal for Harry Kane at Wembley. It is a frightening prospect for opposition defenders as they grow tired in the second half of games and Maresca has proved he is not afraid to make early changes to inspire a change of momentum.
Whereas Southgate often faced accusations of taking too long to turn to his ‘finishers’, Maresca has so far proved himself to be a man who does not like to hang around. Twice in Chelsea’s first four games, he has made unenforced half-time changes – sending on Neto for Mudryk against Wolves and swapping Neto for Sancho at Bournemouth. Maresca has also made a change ahead of the hour mark in each of his league games in charge so far.
There was debate at Leicester City over the timing and impact of Maresca’s substitutions. He made 30 changes before the hour mark across the entire Championship-winning season, with varying degrees of success. But Maresca did not have current and former internationals at his disposal, nor players with the talent of Felix, Nkunku, Neto, Sancho and Madueke.
There are probably better-balanced substitute benches in the league, with superior defensive options and players to bring more control, but there are few with Chelsea’s sheer number of potential match-winners who can either create or score goals. The real trick, of course, will be keeping them all happy. Madueke did not look delighted with being replaced against Bournemouth, while Nkunku, who was the main man at RB Leipzig where he top-scored, is unlikely to see himself as a long-term super-sub.
, until January at least, would suggest he will not be rotated much in the central attacking position behind striker Nicolas Jackson, so most of the changes will presumably come on the flanks. Chelsea are in four competitions this season and will compete in the Club World Cup in America next summer, which persuaded sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart to try to build a squad capable of coping with between 70 and 80 matches. That would indicate Nkunku and Co will get plenty of opportunities, not just from the bench, but it is clear that Chelsea’s substitutes can be every bit as important as the starters under Maresca.
Liverpool’s substitutes were the top performers last season, tallying 24 goal contributions, with Villa and Arsenal also in the top four. All three of those clubs qualified for the Champions League, which would suggest Chelsea’s ‘finishers’ need to remain among the best for Maresca’s team to return to Europe’s top competition..
