Enzo Maresca did not hold back at half-time as Chelsea were forced to come from behind to beat League One side Lincoln City in the EFL Cup.The Chelsea manager revealed he exchanged angry words with hi...
Enzo Maresca did not hold back at half-time as Chelsea were forced to come from behind to beat League One side Lincoln City in the EFL Cup.
The Chelsea manager revealed he exchanged angry words with his players during the break after Lincoln took a deserved 1-0 lead through Rob Street.
Before the game, Chelsea knew they were up for a tricky test.
Maresca had gone around the dressing room asking who had previously faced a League One opponent, warning his squad to expect a bruising battle.
However, his message appeared to fall on deaf ears in the first half as Lincoln won several duels and unsettled the visitors.
“We expected long balls, duels, throw-ins, free-kicks, every time inside the box,” Maresca said (via the Daily Mail).
“I asked today how many of them had played against a League One team, because you need to play a different kind of game. It’s not the same game, because the desire is double from them.
“We struggled in the first half. In the second half, we were much better.”
Maresca admitted his frustration boiled over at the break. “Absolutely,” he added.
“We prepared the game thinking exactly in the way it was in the first half. Jamie Gittens had never played against a League One side. Jorrel [Hato] had never played this kind of game.
“This kind of game, you have to play in a different way. It’s more about desire, and we struggled in the first half.”
Lincoln’s approach also unsettled Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who was replacing the suspended Robert Sanchez.
Jorgensen found himself swarmed by crosses, long throws and free-kicks as Lincoln poured men into the Chelsea box.
Reluctant to throw Jorgensen under the bus, Maresca claimed “it would not have been easy for any goalkeeper” to deal with Lincoln’s tactical plan.
However, Chelsea found some semblance of control after the interval.
A long-range stunner from Tyrique George and a well-worked goal from Facundo Buonanotte spared Chelsea’s blushes as the Blues came from behind to win 2-1.
Maresca’s side now have to prepare to return to Premier League action against a Brighton & Hove Albion side that put five past Barnsley in their EFL Cup tie.
Category: General Sports
