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Enzo Maresca has disclosed the rationale behind his alterations in Chelsea’s goalless encounter at Brentford.
Enzo Maresca has revealed why he started a seemingly weakened side in Chelsea's Premier League draw at Brentford on Sunday.
The Blues needed maximum points to close the gap on third-placed Nottingham Forest to two points following Forest’s defeat at Aston Villa the day earlier, but could only pick up a point at the Gtech Community Stadium.
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Brentford vs Chelsea
Noteworthy were the exclusions of Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer, both of whom were replaced by Christopher Nkunku and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
The second half provided most of the excitement as Mark Flekken made several saves to deny Pedro Neto, Reece James and Sepp van den Berg scoring at the wrong end.
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Chelsea also came close to scoring with chances for Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer.
At the other end, Robert Sanchez made a crucial save from Bryan Mbuemo, while Van den Berg failed to convert a close-range header.
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Palmer nearly won it with a late curler at the death but his shot went just over the bar.
Although the draw brought an end to Chelsea's four-match losing streak away from home, Maresca’s side remain winless on the road since December 8, a sequence now at eight games.
The Italian manager explained his reasons for the players selected from the off against the Bees, pointing to the need to freshen the side after an intense derby against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday.
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“We played Thursday night, demanding game, 24 hours less than them. Tricky stadium, tricky game,” said Maresca after the Blues' draw at Brentford. “Sunny day, the pitch was dry. They tried to kill the tempo of the game, so for me it was a complete game.
“Not all of them were 100%. So, the idea was to start in one way and to finish in the other way. The plan nearly worked because, as you said, the second half, the last half an hour, probably we created a little bit more.
“But I think overall the volume between first half and second half has been enough to win the game. We shot more than 20 times and probably the only thing we missed has been the goal, but overall happy with the performance.”
What next for Chelsea?
Chelsea travel to Poland to play Legia Warsaw in Thursday's Conference League quarter-final first leg.
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