Enzo Maresca was full of praise for defender Wesley Fofana afterwards Chelsea win 3-0 at West Ham on Saturday in the Premier League.
The Blues clinched an impressive victory thanks to a brace from Nicolas Jackson and a later strike from Cole Palmer, taking advantage of poor defending from the Hammers. The result marked another Premier League win for new manager Maresca, who have lost just one league game so far this season, against Manchester City.
It was centre-back Fofana that the manager was quick to praise after the match. The France star has started all five of Chelsea’s league games this season after missing much of the Blues’ campaign last time out.
“Wes is a player I love a lot, I’m in love with Wes,” Maresca told reporters after Saturday’s win. “He’s doing fantastic after a year of injury and for any player in the world, when you’re out for a year and then you come back, it’s not easy, and he’s doing his best. That’s all we want from him. .”
Maresca also revealed that his decision to replace the defender was not due to an injury concern.
“The reason we changed it was because we’re trying to protect it a little bit,” he continued. “He was also yellow carded. It’s nothing serious. In the second half they switched (Mohammed) Kudus to his side and it was probably a big risk to keep him, but there’s no injury.”
The Blues boss also took time to praise Jadon Sancho, who made a move from Manchester United to west London at the end of the transfer window.
“Jadon did well, it was exactly what we expected from him. He worked really hard with (Aaron) Wan-Bissaka, and also in the second half. Then Pedro (Neto) came in and did well, so we are happy”.
Chelsea will return to action on Tuesday when they face Barrow in the Carabao Cup.
