"The final of the summer tournament in the United States, which saw Chelsea beat Paris St Germain 3-0, was played only five weeks before the start of the new Premier League season. "The (selection) is always because we think the plan with the players is the correct one," said Maresca. "Today, we started the right way, scored the goal but then we conceded two, the first one when they had 10 players. We can avoid both goals. In their box, we need to be more clinical.""
"There was more worry for Maresca as Lavia was forced off injured early on. The midfielder has played only 30 times in more than two years since joining the club and has never completed a full 90 minutes. "We feel a shame for him, especially for him," said Maresca. "He's not able to be fit for a long, long period. We will see now. It's too early to understand what kind of injury. I think it's his quad." The draw leaves Chelsea on eight points in the table, the same number as their hosts in Baku, but with one defeat already to their name there is little margin for error in their remaining four games if they hope to finish in the top eight and avoid a play-off in February."
Chelsea fielded a young, rotated side after a 2,500-mile trip to Baku and were held to a 2-2 draw with Qarabag, rescued by Alejandro Garnacho’s substitute goal. Manager Enzo Maresca made seven changes to rest key players following the summer Club World Cup, citing fatigue and scheduling strain. Rome Lavia left injured after eight minutes, continuing a pattern of limited availability since joining the club. Maresca said the squad needs greater clinical finishing in the box and that selection choices reflected recovery priorities. Chelsea sit on eight points and must improve in remaining games to secure a top-eight finish.
Read at 101GREATGOALS.COM
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