Chelsea: Enzo Maresca's big decision for crunch showdown with Nottingham Forest

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·19. Mai 2025

Chelsea: Enzo Maresca's big decision for crunch showdown with Nottingham Forest

Selection call could be vital in bid to secure Champions League qualification

As mismatches go, in purely aesthetic terms at least, you don’t find too many more extreme on a football pitch than this. The thin, wiry frame of teenage forward Tyrique George, throwing himself directly up against English football’s most famous mass in Harry Maguire. It was men vs boys stuff, and not far off literally so.

The thinking from Enzo Maresca, who handed winger George his first Premier League start and asked him to lead the Chelsea line, was presumably that the 19-year-old’s pace could exploit Maguire’s long-established weakness running back towards his own goal. With cover, though, from Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof in Manchester United’s back-three, seldom did the space in behind open up for George to try.

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Only once did Chelsea spring the trap, George racing clear at a wide angle and drawing what looked a daft challenge from Andre Onana, charging from the United goal. Something about the incident did not look quite right, though, and referee Chris Kavanagh’s initial decision, from a distance, appeared a bit of a guess. VAR correctly intervened, showing Onana had taken the ball.

And that was about it in terms of notable involvement from George on a thankless night. He ran willingly, pressed hard but managed just 14 touches, eight passes and registered no shots or dribbles.

Tyrique George led the line for Chelsea against Manchester United on Friday

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

“He was very good,” Maresca insisted at full-time. “Brave. He was a threat in behind.

“It’s not easy for him because on the other side you have Maguire, you have Lindelof, you have Shaw. He was fighting against important defenders.

“But again, we tried to find a solution with a player from the academy. Overall, I think also he had the penalty moment, so he works quite good.”

Pressed on whether he was convinced George could lead the line if required at Nottingham Forest on the final day of the season, Maresca replied: “Absolutely, yes. 100 per cent.”

In fairness, what else could he really say? The circumstances that left Maresca without a recognised centre-forward here may not change by the time his team go to Forest, where victory will guarantee a Champions League return.

Nicolas Jackson will still be suspended. Marc Guiu, even if fit, will not have played a minute of football in almost four months. Christopher Nkunku could be back, but Maresca does not fancy him as a striker (or anywhere else, really).

Enzo Maresca has been left without a recognised centre-forward because Nicolas Jackson is suspended

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

The Italian must keep options open. Jadon Sancho’s return, after being ineligible against his parent club on Friday, does open up one other.

Bringing Sancho in for George, Maresca could fill his frontline with senior players, shifting Pedro Neto to No9. Indeed, it felt odd he and George did not switch positions even for a short while against United, given the Portuguese had showed promising flashes when deputising there for Jackson earlier in the season, involved in three goals in four matches.

True, George, too, had looked good playing as a mobile frontman against Djurgardens in the Conference League semi-finals. As poor as United are though, this was still a step up. Going up against the excellent Forest pair of Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo will be another. It would be no stain on George, or his surprise breakthrough season, if he were dropped to the bench at the City Ground next week.