Enzo Maresca's tenure at Stamford Bridge has exceeded expectations in its early days. Players that struggled in seasons past have made noticeable progress under the Italian. Nevertheless, Maresca expects more of one particular player that's been a regular in the Premier League this season: Noni Madueke.
"He (Madueke) can do much more. In the moment that he starts to score or assist and he's happy, he starts to drop a little bit. " Maresca said following Chelsea's victory over Southampton.
Madueke scored his fifth league goal of the season and notched his second assist in as many games in the 5–1 demolition of Southampton. However, Madueke missed a number of clear chances to extend Chelsea's lead and was replaced in the second half.
The England international returned to the lineup after Maresca left him out of the XI against Aston Villa last Sunday, ending a streak of 11 consecutive games started in the Premier League.
"The reason why he was not playing is because I didn't like the way he trained," Maresca said regarding Madueke's benching against Villa. "He has to understand he has to train every day good. He has to be ambitious, if he scored one tonight he has to go for the second one, for the third one, he has to be ambitious."
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Despite public criticism, Maresca also recognized just how impressive Madueke has been this season. "Overall, he's doing great, he's doing fantastic. He's doing even better in terms of numbers (G+A), but Noni (Madueke) has to understand he has to work more because he can be much, much, much better," Maresca said to close the topic.
It's not the first time Maresca shares his thoughts publicly on a player, see Jadon Sancho or Enzo Fernández.
Madueke will hope to build on his solid showing against Southampton to respond to his manager's plea. He's improved mightily during this term, so much so that he received his first England national team selection back in October.
Chelsea continues to keep pace with the top teams in the Premier League. The resounding victory over Southampton now has the Blues above Arsenal on goal differential and seven points behind league leader Liverpool.
Chelsea's next game will be a London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Dec. 8.
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