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Chelsea’s attacking stars must accept they will not start every match as head coach Enzo Maresca has insisted rotation is key to his team’s functioning.
Saturday’s 5-0 win over Morecambe in the FA Cup saw all five goals scored by players who have not been regular Premier League caps as Maresca shuffled their pack against the League Two strugglers.
Defender Tosin Adarabioyo scored twice with finishes from outside the box while Christopher Nkunku scored his 13th of the season in all competitions.
Joao Felix also scored twice in the second half, the second a brilliant curling effort from distance, but although he and Nkunku have 20 goals between them, their league debuts have been sporadic.
Both players prefer to play in the number 10 role, but with Cole Palmer effectively untouchable in that position, they have either been deployed elsewhere or limited to appearances off the bench.
“The only thing I said from the beginning is that it is difficult to play with so many offensive players,” Maresca said. “If Joao plays it means Cole doesn’t play, or if Joao plays he has to play with Cole together but it depends on the match.
“For me it’s quite simple, we have three players who are more or less similar, Joao, Cole and Christo. Joao played a few games, Christo played, they both played against Ipswich (2-0 loss) , they both played Southampton (5-1 win) and Leicester (2-1 win).
“In some games we can play with them all together, but not every game.”
Palmer scored 13 goals in all competitions and was arguably the league’s standout player during the first half of the campaign.
He was an unused substitute on Saturday alongside Levi Colwill, Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson as Maresca stuck to its policy of high rotation in cup competitions.
That meant starts for 18-year-old striker Marc Guiu – the Conference League’s top scorer but yet to start in the league after two appearances – and academy graduate Tyrique George, who was making his fourth start .
Renato Veiga and goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen also weighed in and Maresca suggested his players were accepting the reality that a big team means inevitable changes between competitions.
The Blues face Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday aiming to end a run of four games without a win.
“That was the idea (to leave the players out),” he said. “Since we started we tried to share the minutes. The idea was to give them some rest and hopefully they can be ready for Tuesday’s game.
“The desire is good, they show that they want to play every game. But there are also players who don’t get many minutes in the Premier League. What’s good is that they show that ‘They always want to play.’
