Maresca praises ‘professional’ Chelsea as Blues beat Morecambe in FA Cup League Two
Enzo Maresca praised his players’ “professional” performance as Chelsea comfortably beat League Two Morecambe 5-0 in the third round of the FA Cup.
Tosin Adarabioyo and Joao Felix both scored braces while Christopher Nkunku, who saw a first-half penalty saved, also scored to ensure there would be no cup upset at Stamford Bridge.
Eighty-seven places separate the two teams in the English football pyramid and in the end the gap in quality became apparent as Maresca’s team convincingly progressed to the fourth round.
We continue into the fourth round #EmiratesFACup! 🏆#CFC pic.twitter.com/Eqw9mWrJdd
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 11, 2025
After the game, Maresca said: “It was a good afternoon in terms of the win, that’s important.” The performance in such games also shows how serious and professional we are.
“The FA Cup is an important competition. Since our founding, we have tried to treat every competition the same way. We try to do our best in every competition.”
The Chelsea manager, who took the opportunity to make major changes to the starting XI, revealed that Noni Madueke missed the game due to illness.
Maresca also stressed the need to be patient with the fitness of returning players like Reece James, adding that players like Nkunku and Felix will let their football do the talking.
“The idea is to slowly build up the right state,” Maresca said. “Especially with Reece (James), we have to be a little more careful. He and Romeo (Lavia) both finished well without any problems. We have to help them get into the right shape.
“Christo (Nkunku) and Joao (Felix) didn’t knock on the door or ask anything, but that’s not necessary.”
Next up for Chelsea is a visit to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Tuesday.
