Enzo Maresca wanted Bryan Mbeumo to score in wild Chelsea admission vs Man United
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Credit: Imago
Harri Burton
Sat 20 September 2025 21:30, UK
Enzo Maresca was left extremely frustrated as Chelsea fell to defeat at the hands of Man United at Old Trafford.
Chelsea lost 2-1 to Ruben Amorim’s side, having been thrown into complete chaos by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez getting himself sent off for wiping out Bryan Mbeumo outside the penalty area.
Before the half-time whistle, Casemiro also received his marching orders, picking up two yellow cards, and therefore, a red card, but the damage had already been done on Saturday, 20 September.
Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro had taken advantage of the one-man advantage before the playing field was levelled, and Trevoh Chalobah‘s header was nothing more than a consolation goal.
While Maresca’s comments may seem odd out of context, it is a rather sensible reaction, given that supporters likely have exactly the same thought process over red cards.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Maresca admitted that he’d rather Sanchez allowed Mbeumo to break past him and slot home than get sent off, putting Chelsea at a disadvantage for 85 minutes.
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With only five minutes passing when the incident occurred, there would have been more than enough time for the Blues to turn things around, but that’s not how football works.
Anyone who has played the game at any level knows that players need to make decisions in a split second, and that is exactly what the Spanish shot-stopper did at Old Trafford.
Now, Maresca will be without his first-choice goalkeeper for the next game, and Filip Jorgensen did very little to comfort the supporters with his performance after being substituted on.
After going down to 10 men, Chelsea also lost Cole Palmer, with many suggesting that the player was injured rather than it being a tactical decision from the manager.
He has been playing through the pain for the Blues, and Maresca has now admitted that the 23-year-old was not fully fit after playing 90 minutes against Bayern Munich during the week.
It looks to be a decision that has backfired after just 21 minutes at Old Trafford, and with 26 goal contributions in all competitions last season, he could be a huge miss.
There will likely be more said about his situation during the week, but for now, supporters will have to sit and wonder how serious the star’s injury is.