Enzo Maresca criticised one of his players following Chelsea’s 5-1 thrashing of Southampton on Wednesday night.
Noni Madueke scored a goal and assisted another during the Blues’ dominant display over the relegation-threatened team at St. Mary’s in midweek.
Maresca’s criticism of Madueke
Despite his impressive contribution, Chelsea boss Maresca has demanded that the England international “show more ambition,” admitting he has not been impressed with the winger’s attitude in training.
Pay Attention: Get the best tips from our Bet of the Day
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Italian manager 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.”
Since scoring a hat-trick against Wolves in August, Madueke had only scored once before Wednesday night’s victory at Southampton.
However, Maresca did offer some compliments after criticising Madueke.
“But overall, he is doing great, he is doing fantastic. 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.”
Wednesday’s win moved Chelsea to second in the league standings, seven points behind leaders Liverpool and tied on points with third-placed Arsenal.
