Noni Madueke was sacked by Enzo Maresca for Chelsea’s first Premier League defeat since October, and the Blues boss set an example with the 22-year-old England international.
Madueke was not injured as the winger was unable to make the team here, and Maresca named a bench that included two goalkeepers and a couple of youth players.
He only used one substitute, replacing Nicolas Jackson with Christopher Nkunku, as Fulham won at Stamford Bridge for the first time in 45 years.
Maresca is yet to explain exactly why he dropped Madueke, but previously criticized the Englishman for not training properly between matches.
After being kicked out of the team in the Premier League win over Aston Villa earlier this month, Maresca told us: “He can do a lot more.” The moment you start scoring or assisting and you are happy, you start going down.
“The reason I didn’t play is because I don’t like the way he trained.”
Enzo Maresca explained the reason why Noni Madeuke was not in the team to face Fulham
The Italian coach revealed that he was not very impressed with Madueke’s performance in training
Maresca also pointed out after a Conference League clash against Servette at the start of the season, saying at the time: “I really like Noni. Probably the only problem with him is that he has to understand that he needs to be consistent during the week.” .
Maresca also suggested that this derby defeat to Fulham was proof of why Chelsea are not in this season’s title race with Liverpool and Arsenal.
The Blues clumsily conceded two goals in the 82nd and 95th minutes as Fulham came back to win.
“It’s more the feeling that we have inside and the reality that we have inside that we can do better,” Maresca said. “One of the things is game management.”