In the early stages of the pursuit of excellence, there is not one thing that cannot be improved. This was made clear on Wednesday night as, although Noni Madueke scored and assisted to help Chelsea sweep Southampton aside in a convincing 5-1 win, Enzo Maresca was still left relatively unimpressed by what he saw from the tricky winger.
The 22-year-old was joined on the scoresheet by Cole Palmer, Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, and Jadon Sancho as the Blues ran riot. The three points, and the manner in which they earned them, saw the west London outfit move up to second in the Premier League, seven points behind Liverpool and above Arsenal on goal difference.
However, Maresca displayed his scrupulous side after the clash in midweek and has outright said that his star winger on the night, who earned the Man of the Match award for his efforts, still has more work to do if he is to earn a regular spot in the starting lineup.
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Madueke "Must Work More" Maresca Insists
A goal, assist, and Man of the Match award still left more to desire for the Italian boss
Noni Madueke
As relayed by BBC Sport, Maresca insisted that Madueke "must work more" to secure a place in the Chelsea side following the Blues' successful trip to the south coast. He said:
"Noni can do much more. He can do much more. The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit and the reason why he was not playing is because I do not like the way he trained.
"He has to understand that he has to train every day good. He has to be ambitious. He scored one tonight, he has to go for the second one and the third one. He has to give more assists."
"But overall, he is doing great, he is doing fantastic," the Italian added. "He is doing even better in terms of numbers. Noni has to understand he has to work more because he can be much, much, much better." Madueke, Joao Felix, Cole Palmer, and Nkunku formed Chelsea’s attacking quartet against Southampton, as Maresca made seven changes to the lineup that triumphed over Villa.
This reshuffle left players like Pedro Neto, Nicolas Jackson, and Jadon Sancho on the bench, showcasing the impressive depth of Maresca's squad, particularly in the forward line. But while Madueke faces stiff competition, his tally of six goals and two assists in 16 games across all competitions bodes well for a long-term future in his manager's vision.
All statistics via Transfermarkt (correct as of 05/12/24)