Just 15… Chelsea star with fewer touches than Robert Sanchez highlights Enzo Maresca’s biggest problem

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Chelsea might have won their first Champions League game of the season, but one poor performance highlighted a major issue for Enzo Maresca.

The Blues defeated Benfica by a goal to nil at Stamford Bridge, ending their three-match losing streak, which had been placing pressure on Maresca’s job.

Some bright play from Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho forced an own goal in the first half, with the game’s only goal.

Chelsea managed to spoil Jose Mourinho’s return to the club, but one player had minimal impact in making that happen, which will have frustrated Maresca.

Tyrique George struggled to make any impact against Benfica

Maresca opted to start academy star Tyrique George against Benfica, coming off the back of scoring against Lincoln City in the EFL Cup.

However, the youngster found the step up to the Champions League difficult in this particular fixture as he barely managed to get involved in the game.

George was brought off after 61 minutes, and given that Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez had more touches than him throughout the game, that wasn’t a big surprise.

Maresca’s decision to keep giving George opportunities has confused fans, given that he was almost sold to Fulham during the summer transfer window.

Meanwhile, Chelsea opted to bring Marc Guiu back from his Sunderland loan move to provide more options upfront, yet he has still not played a minute for the Blues this season.

Enzo Maresca continues to have issues with Chelsea’s attacking options

While Maresca has a plethora of wingers to choose from in each game, he’s severely lacking in options when it comes to strikers.

Liam Delap remains injured and unavailable, and with Joao Pedro not fully fit, Maresca has few options to consider at the moment.

The difference in this game was an own goal, and Chelsea only had three shots on target throughout the 90 minutes, highlighting that this is a significant problem for the club.

The situation was made even worse in the final moments of the game when Pedro got sent off, meaning he will now be unavailable for Chelsea’s next European fixture against Ajax.