Chelsea boss Maresca announced that Sancho, who was on loan from Man Utd, left the team for 'tactical reasons'

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca announced that Jadon Sancho, on loan from Man Utd, missed the last two matches “for tactical reasons”.

Sancho joined the Blues on a season-long loan. Man Utd In the summer, his move is expected to become permanent at the end of 2024/25.

He started very well at Stamford Bridge, providing an assist in his first three Premier League matches for the club.

However, the 24-year-old player appeared in the league as an unused substitute. ChelseaLast two matches against Panathinaikos in the Europa Conference League and Newcastle United in the Premier League.

“He did not play according to tactical decisions in the last two matches. Nothing more than that,” Maresca told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Eddie Howe’s team.

“Sancho has been doing well since he arrived. Players cannot stay at the same level all season.

“He will play a lot of games, he needs to keep working hard.”

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Maresca, meanwhile, praised the “beautiful” culture of English football for fueling the drama that has the rest of Europe envious.

Five of the 10 Premier League matches played at the weekend saw a change of outcome in extra time; Brentford’s 4-3 win over Ipswich on Saturday and Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham were among them.

Wolves drew 2-2 with Brighton despite being two goals behind until the 85th minute, while Everton and Bournemouth got one point each in their matches against Fulham and Aston Villa.

Having survived a thrilling high in his team’s 2-1 win against Newcastle, Maresca claimed fans in England did not realize how lucky they were.

“That’s why people are so in love with the Premier League,” the Italian football player said. “You’re from England, you don’t realize how the Premier League is viewed abroad.

“One of the reasons is that the game never ends here. In different countries, for example in my country, if you are 2-0 up in the last five minutes, you may have 5-6 players down for 20 seconds, half an hour. It’s hard to go back.

“There is a different culture in England. That’s probably why it’s so beautiful.”

Sunday’s win was Chelsea’s fifth in nine league games and continued their impressive start under Maresca.

They sit fifth in the Champions League standings, but the head coach said returning the team to Europe’s biggest competition was not among the targets set by club bosses.

“The club never told me about the top four,” he said. “They always said the goal was to build something significant for the next four or five years.

“Of course, we work every day to build something important. Could there be pressure on the players? I don’t think so because if you go match by match you can see yourself where you are at that moment.

“If you start thinking about the top four or top six, you think about May, June. “That’s too far for me.”

Maresca has better injury chances than his recent predecessors and has a fully equipped squad to choose from for Wednesday’s rematch against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup fourth round at St James’ Park.

This means Wesley Fofana will be available despite falling awkwardly on his knee in the first half on Sunday.

The defender missed all of last season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury but has been central to Chelsea’s success this season.

“He had a bad moment in the first half but he is a fighter,” Maresca said. “He played through the pain. I really like Wes because it’s not easy to come back after a year off and be a fighter.

“He’s dealing with pain. When you have this type of injury, unfortunately you’re going to feel pain for the rest of your career.”

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