Chelsea’s recent win against ES Tunis in the Club World Cup showed that Enzo Maresca still has plenty of quality to turn to outside of his starting XI.
Maresca put plenty of faith in his fringe players to get the job done, with the heavily-rotated side needing to avoid defeat to advance to the knockout stages of the competition.
Goals from Tosin Adarabioyo, Liam Delap and Tyrique George saw them stroll to victory, however it was the defensive performance which caught the eye the most.
The Blues didn’t allow their Tunisian opponents a single shot on target, and Cole Palmer was wowed by Tosin’s performance in particular.
Esperance de Tunis v Chelsea FC: Group D - FIFA Club World Cup 2025
Photo by Emilee Chinn – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Benoit Badiashile’s improvements under Enzo Maresca going under the radar
His centre-back partner for the game was Benoit Badiashile, who has found Premier League appearances very difficult to come by over the last 12 months. He featured just five times in the league in the 2024/25 season.
However, he didn’t put a foot wrong against ES Tunis, and showed he still has plenty to give in a Chelsea shirt.
Benoit Badiashile vs ES Tunis Total
Minutes 90
Duels won 4/6
Recoveries 4
Dribbled Past 0
Completed passes 89/94
Passes into final third 7
Being a regular in a side who also have Levi Colwill available is always going to be difficult, but the France international had shown signs of improvement in his multiple appearances in the Conference League.
Maresca was impressed by Badiashile in the final against Real Betis, with him being rated highly enough to start that game.
Nottingham Forest FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League
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Benoit Badiashile’s future not certain
Despite obvious improvements since Maresca moved to Chelsea, Badiashile’s future is anything but secure at Stamford Bridge.
Badiashile was one of the seven players offered to West Ham in exchange for Mohammed Kudus, however this did not come to anything.
The defender, signed for £35m, admitted he doesn’t know if he will still be at Chelsea next season, with a number of centre-backs whose future unsure.
Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga and Trevoh Chalobah will all continue to be linked with moves away, and Badiashile is no doubt on that list of unsecured futures.