Maresca's reveals private conversation to convince Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea midfield plan | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has revealed what he is doing to convince Enzo Fernandez of his role in Chelsea's midfield after their win over Leicester City.

Fernandez put in a Man of the Match performance in Chelsea's midfield as he registered an assist for Nicolas Jackson's opener in the first half, flicking the ball to the striker who did brilliantly to beat his man and score.

The Argentinian added a goal of his own in the second half, following up to head Chelsea into a two-goal lead before a late Jordan Ayew penalty saw the match finish 2-1 in the Blues' favour.

Fernandez found himself on the bench for Chelsea in their last four Premier League matches but returned to the starting XI in place of Romeo Lavia.

After impressing in the international break for Argentina, Fernandez returned to Cobham later than many of his Chelsea team-mates but was the best of the bunch in Saturday's early kick-off.

Speaking to the press after the match, Chelsea boss Maresca revealed how he is convincing Chelsea's midfielder of his role in his system.

Fernandez registered a goal and an assist for Chelsea in their win over Leicester City. / IMAGO / Every Second Media

When asked to reflect on Fernandez's performance, which saw TNT Sports give him the Man of the Match award, Maresca said: "Enzo did really well today. He is doing very well since we started. The same as I said many times for Joao Felix, the problem is it depends on the game-plan; we use different kind of players."

After a spell on the bench for the first time in his Chelsea career, Fernandez has been working hard to regain his place in the side and an injury to Lavia on international duty saw the Argentine return to the starting XI. Maresca continued to reveal why he felt that Fernandez was the right option for the Blues' trip to Leicester despite Lavia being fit enough to be named on the bench.

"Today I thought (it) was the right game to use Enzo even if he was back from international duty (late)," he continued. "I think he did very well."

Finally, the Blues boss revealed how he is trying to convince Fernandez of his role, which appears to be more attacking than the role of his midfield partner Moises Caicedo.

Maresca said: "I'm trying to convince Enzo in the same way as I did last year with (Wilfred) Ndidi and Kiernan (Dewsbury-Hall) that attacking midfielders need to arrive in the box. The reason why he scored today was because he was inside the box and if he was outside of the box, he wouldn't have scored the goal. We are happy in the way Enzo is doing."

With Lavia coming off the bench to concede a penalty, Fernandez will be hoping to retain his place in Chelsea's team for the visit of Aston Villa next weekend as the Blues look to continue their fine start to the season.

Maresca's side sit third in the Premier League table, level on points with Arsenal in fourth as they look to secure their place in the top four and qualify for next season's Champions League.