Chelsea Resurges: Maresca “Enrages” at Halftime and Guides the Comeback

Enzo Maresca, Chelsea’s coach, admitted that there were “absolutely” strong words in the locker room during halftime, after his team came back from a losing score to beat Lincoln City 2-1 in the Carabao Cup. Lincoln, who plays in League One, deservedly took the lead in the 42nd minute at the LNER Stadium, thanks to a goal following an error by Enzo Fernández. Fernández was one of the three players who remained in the starting eleven after Chelsea’s defeat in the Premier League against Manchester United on Saturday. Despite this, Chelsea’s starting team featured renowned players and represented an investment of almost 400 million pounds in signings. After the break, Chelsea reacted with two goals in five minutes, scored by Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte, whose first goal for Chelsea sealed qualification for the fourth round.

Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.

Enzo Maresca, Chelsea manager

Maresca, when asked about his halftime talk, responded firmly, highlighting the need for a change of mentality and adaptation to the game. The coach added: “I know that some of them are not used to these types of matches. I asked them how many times they had played against League One teams, because a different game is needed.” “It’s not the same game because the desire is double on their part. We had difficulties in the first half, but we were much better in the second and we won the match.” “If the next match is against a League One or League Two team away from home, this experience will surely be good for the next one. It has been a good experience.” Alejandro Garnacho, who started for the first time after his signing for 40 million pounds from Manchester United, was booed by Lincoln supporters. Lincoln’s fans cheered their team for much of the match, making it difficult for Chelsea to play. Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who started for the first time since June due to Robert Sánchez’s suspension, struggled on several occasions.

Maresca defended the Danish goalkeeper, adding: “I don’t know how many balls they put into the area. It wasn’t easy for any goalkeeper, to be honest.” “It’s not easy because they put a lot of players inside the area, it’s difficult. For Filip, it was the first match of the season, so it wasn’t easy, but we won the match. I was very worried about this match.” Lincoln had beaten Harrogate and Burton to play their first match against Chelsea in 114 years. They had only beaten the West London team once in seven previous encounters, in the 1907 FA Cup. Lincoln manager Michael Skubala stated: “I am very proud of the overall performance, but also frustrated because we believe we could have gotten more out of the match.” “The group probably thinks the same because they feel they deserved more, but in the end, Chelsea’s quality became evident in those five minutes in which they scored two goals.”