Enzo Maresca Responds to Criticism Over Chelsea Substitutions After Sánchez Red Card vs Man United

The Italian coach decided to sub off Estevao for Filip Jorgensen, but he also took out Pedro Neto for Tosin Adarabioyo. Chelsea were looking to be more defensive, but it didn't prevent Man United from scoring two in the first half.

Bruno Fernandes scored the opener in the 15th minute, and Casemiro scored the second in the 37th minute. Chelsea did not look like an attacking threat until Man United's Casemiro received a red card just before halftime.

Chelsea got one back when Trevoh Chalobah scored in the 80th minute, but it wasn't enough to prevent the defeat. With many questioning Maresca's decision to make defensive substitutions, the Italian coach answers to those doubts.

Enzo Maresca on his Chelsea substitutions

Enzo Maresca wanted to play the match safely after going down to 10 men very early in the match. Maresca knew they were at a serious disadvantage with a man down as Man United piled on the pressure from the beginning.

Enzo Maresca: "They attack with five players so the idea was to defend with five players. You can defend with four at 11 v 11. The game probably changed after they conceded the red card also with Casemiro. We were much better."

Despite the changes, Chelsea still lost the match. Maresca was furious with the red card and mentioned that it was the key factor in the performance and the result.

Enzo Maresca: "The red card changed the game after three minutes. After the red card for them, 10 v 10, it changed the game for us. We needed to start in a better way...It would be better to be 1-0 down with 95 minutes left, than have 10 men."