Enzo Maresca has called on Noni Madueke to live up to his goalscoring potential after returning the winger to his starting XI to face Southampton.
The England international had been a regular among Chelsea’s Premier League starters after a confident start to the season, but was ruled out of Sunday’s match against Aston Villa.
Madueke came on in the second half of the 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge, and then returned to the line-up on the south coast to take part in the Blues’ 5-1 thrashing of the home side.
The 22-year-old scored and assisted as the visitors went on a rampage at St Mary’s, helping to burnish their title-chasing credentials as they move into second place, seven points behind league leaders Liverpool.
But despite a commanding performance from his player, Maresca was keen after the whistle to keep Madueke ambitious for more and remind the star of the importance of maintaining high standards both on the pitch and in training.
“I have a personal relationship with Noni, in the sense that he can do much more,” Maresca said. ‘The moment you start scoring or assisting and you’re happy, you start to decline a little.
Enzo Maresca asked Noni Madueke to keep fighting for more despite her good form
The England international found his way onto the scoresheet on Wednesday night.
The Blues cruised to a 5-1 away win as Southampton imploded once again.
“The reason he didn’t play (against Aston Villa) is because I don’t like the way he trained. He has to understand that he has to train well every day, he has to be ambitious.
“If he scores one tonight, he will have to go for the second, the third. He has to be ambitious, give more assists.
“But overall, he’s doing very well, he’s doing fantastic,” the head coach added. ‘He is doing even better in terms of numbers, assists and goals. But Noni has to understand that he has to work harder because he can be much, much, much better.’
Madueke has registered five goals and two more assists in his 13 Premier League appearances this season, but such is the depth of Chelsea’s young and hungry squad that a guaranteed starting place cannot be taken for granted.
After a strong performance in last week’s UEFA Conference League match against Heidenheim, Jadon Sancho was promoted to the first team against Villa.
Although he came on as a substitute against Southampton, the former Manchester United player scored an eye-catching fifth goal against Russell Martin’s struggling side, adding to Maresca’s selection dilemma ahead of their clash with Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.
Madueke was accused of not meeting Maresca’s standards in training before facing Aston Villa
The improvement of Jadon Sancho (right), as well as the great form of Chelsea’s other forwards, means that no starting place is guaranteed.
The traveling fans on Wednesday night were delighted with their team’s performance and chanted “we’ve got our Chelsea back” in a tribute that Maresca acknowledged from the bench.
Although the manager has been keen to play down suggestions that the team could be in a title race with established contenders Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City, Prime Video Man of the Match Madueke admitted fans had a right to feel “excited” for the team.
“I’m sure they can get excited,” Madueke said. “I arrived at Chelsea a couple of years ago and it wasn’t always like this.
“They should be really excited to know that we’re not going to take our foot off the gas and take the games as they come.”