Enzo Maresca admits the ‘mistake’ he made against Tottenham

Enzo Maresca acknowledged he made an error in substituting Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez late in Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Tottenham on Thursday night.

Chelsea secured a vital three points at Stamford Bridge, with Fernandez scoring the only goal of the game in the second half. The win moved the Blues back into the top four, just as Manchester City and Newcastle recorded victories the previous day, ensuring the race for Champions League spots will likely go to the wire.

Maresca admits substitution mistake in Tottenham win

Chelsea were boosted by the return of Nicolas Jackson and Palmer to the starting lineup, but were hit by more injury news concerning Wesley Fofana. Moises Caicedo and Fernandez were excellent in midfield, while the defense held firm for another clean sheet.

However, there was a noticeable nervousness when 12 minutes of added time were announced, and Maresca confessed after the match that his decision to withdraw Palmer and Fernandez late in the game was a mistake.

“And then to be honest, that’s been my mistake [bringing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tosin Adarabioyo on for Cole Palmer and Fernandez] because I did the change before I saw the extra time,” he told his post-match press conference.

“And when I saw 12 minutes, I saw that probably it was too early to make that kind of change. But fortunately we won the game and we are happy.”

Maresca was delighted with the three points, but couldn’t hide his frustrations after another question about his teams style of play, whilst he’s also surprisingly claimed the Blues are a better team now than two months ago.

Ultimately, Chelsea were able to hold on and must now regroup and recover ahead of a tough trip to Brentford on Sunday as the race for Champions League qualification continues.