Enzo Maresca tears into Chelsea player after Southampton win and calls out what he did in training
He may have scored for Chelsea in their 5-1 win over Southampton but winger Noni Madueke was given a quite remarkable post-match warning by manager Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea climbed to second in the Premier League on Wednesday night as they cruised past struggling Southampton at St Mary's.
Goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho secured all three points for the Blues, who are in superb form at present.
But in his post-match press conference, a no-nonsense Maresca brought up complacency and work ethic when speaking about Madueke, as he explained why he dropped the England international for their win over Aston Villa.
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Madueke returned to the fold against Southampton but Maresca sent a warning to the winger, who netted his first goal since September.
He said: “Noni can do much more. He can do much more. The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit and the reason why he was not playing is because I do not like the way he trained.
“He has to understand that he has to train every day good. He has to be ambitious. He scored one tonight, he has to go for the second one and the third one. He has to give more assists.
“But overall, he is doing great, he is doing fantastic. He is doing even better in terms of numbers. Noni has to understand he has to work more because he can be much, much, much better.”
Maresca has previously called out flaws in Madueke’s game but back in September, the former PSV Eindhoven man welcomed the criticism.
Speaking to Chelsea's official website, he said: “I feel like it’s only a positive. He wants to push me and wants to make sure I get the best out of myself in every single training session."
He added: "Top players train to their fullest every single day, so that’s for sure what I strive to be as well.”
Madueke will be hoping to feature for the Blues on Sunday as Chelsea make the short trip to North London to face Tottenham Hotspur.
Thoughts on Maresca's comments? Let us know in the comments.
Topics: Enzo Maresca, Chelsea, Premier League, Southampton
Jack Kenmare