The Enzo Fernandez problem his manager has to solve this week | OneFootball

Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia were the midfield platform who gave Chelsea a really bright start in the game against Liverpool on Sunday, and speaking on TalkSport this week, former Premier League striker Darren Bent gave his thoughts on that selection.

“I thought Caicedo was good again [against Liverpool], flying around the park. I almost feel like when they’ve got Lavia and Caicedo, it’s more protection,” Bent explained.

“I quite like those two. If you’re going to Palmer as the 10, I quite like that. The moment you lose one of those, it’s a bit lopsided.”

Lavia is still getting up to speed following a long injury absence, but he had some great moments on Sunday, while Caicedo is in the best form of his Chelsea career at the moment. Playing together seemed to help both.

Enzo Fernandez in midfield. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Enzo the odd one out as Chelsea find midfield balance

We agree completely that Lavia and Caicedo playing together really brings a whole new level of balance to this team. We’ve only seen it fleetingly – of course we have, Lavia has made just 2 starts for the club after all – but we’ve liked it when we’ve seen it.

The two of them, with Palmer ahead, feels like it has a nice balance of running, passing and creating.

The problem, as always, is where that leaves Enzo Fernandez. We hear a lot that he’s better used in a deep position, but that means either breaking up the Lavia – Caicedo duo, or playing all 3. If you play all 3, you’ve then got to put Palmer on the right wing and change formation entirely.

The solution was handed to Enzo Maresca this week because Fernandez was tired after the international break. But this weekend against Newcastle, big decisions will have to be made.