Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca explained that Noni Madueke missed Saturday’s 5-0 FA Cup win over Morecambe due to illness and not another penalty.
Madueke was publicly sent off by Maresca earlier this season after being left on the bench in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa in December. The Italian coach criticized the winger’s attitude in training and accused him of slacking off after a good performance.
Maresca soon welcomed the striker back into the team, but then left him out of the squad that lost to Fulham on Boxing Day. Chelsea’s manager made a reserved statement on the occasion, describing the call as a “technical decision”.
However, it appears that Madueke’s absence against the second division weak side on Saturday was nothing unusual. “It was just because he didn’t finish the training session yesterday,” Maresca explained after watching his team advance to the fourth round of the cup. “He wasn’t feeling well.”
As with most of Chelsea’s cup games, Maresca sent a young team. After a difficult first 40 minutes, which saw Christopher Nkunku save a penalty, the Blues finally broke the deadlock before a flurry of second-half goals gave the scoreline a glossy finish that belied Morecambe’s spirited determination.
With Madueke out, Saturday’s game offered Reece James the chance to make his first appearance for the club in two months. The club’s captain played for 45 minutes before he – and returning midfielder Romeo Lavia – were both substituted during scheduled half-time substitutions.
“The idea is to slowly build up the right conditioning,” Maresca explained. “Especially with Reece we have to be a little more careful. The good thing is that they both played 45 minutes and performed well without any problems. We can start to help them and create the right constitution.”