It wasn’t the start to their Champions League campaign Chelsea would’ve been looking for last night.
The Blues travelled to the scene of their greatest European achievement, but instead of getting another one over Bayern Munich, they were comfortably beaten.
Now, there were several starters who put in a good showing, like Cole Palmer and Robert Sanchez, but there were more who let themselves down.
One of those was Enzo Fernández, and since he’s not really been at it this season, Enzo Maresca should look to drop him for the Premier League clash against Manchester United in two days.
Fernandez's slow start to the season
Now, there is no doubting Fernandez’s quality; he’s a World Cup winner after all and played a pivotal role in Chelsea’s success last year.
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However, as was the case at the beginning of last season, the former Benfica gem has not started the campaign in particularly impressive form.
For example, while he managed to bag a goal and assist in the win over Fulham, he’s only created one big chance in five appearances.
Moreover, in the Premier League, he has averaged just 1.5 key passes per game, been accurate in 20% of his crosses, completed 41% of his long balls, and been accurate in just 76% of his passes when in the opposition’s half.
Last night was probably the Argentine’s most underwhelming display yet, as even though he was moved further up the pitch, he offered practically nothing in attack while also lacking off the ball.
Minutes
81′
Expected Goals
0.23
Goals
0
Expected Assists
0.01
Assists
0
Touches
34
Accurate Passes
17/21 (81%)
Key Passes
0
Crosses (Accurate)
2 (0)
Long Balls (Accurate)
2 (0)
Shots on Target
0
Big Chances Missed
1
Lost Possession
9
In fact, he amassed an expected assists figure of just 0.01, failed in 100% of his crosses and long balls, failed to have a single shot on target and missed a huge chance created by Palmer.
It was a performance that saw the Standard’s Simon Collings award him a 5/10 match rating at full-time, which was probably rather generous.
In all, it feels like Maresca should do what he did last season and take Fernandez out of the team for a little while, especially when he already has a player who could be the ideal replacement.
The player Maresca should start in place of Fernandez
While there are a few options Maresca could pick from, the player we think he should start against United is Andrey Santos.
Now, there is certainly an argument to be made that handing the 21-year-old his first Premier League start at Old Trafford, a ground Chelsea haven’t won at for over a decade, is a little foolish.
However, the young Brazilian does not seem like the sort of player to be overawed by that sort of thing, and his overall play from last season warrants him getting this chance.
He’s more than comfortable playing in a couple of midfield roles and has shown himself to be just as effective at breaking up play as he is at scoring and creating goals.
For example, in 34 appearances for Strasnourg last year, totalling 3024 minutes, the Rio de Janeiro-born ace scored 11 goals and provided five assists.
In other words, he maintained an average of a goal involvement every 2.12 games, or every 189 minutes.
Moreover, according to FBref, he ranks in the top 2% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues for tackles won, the top 4% for goals per shot and tackles in the middle third, the top 10 for tackles plus interceptions and more, all per 90.
Tackles Won
2.23
Top 2%
Non-Penalty Goals – npxG
+0.11
Top 3%
Goals/Shot
0.19
Top 4%
Tackles (Mid 3rd)
1.59
Top 4%
Non-Penalty Goals
0.27
Top 5%
Tackles
3.22
Top 5%
Pass Completion % (Long)
78.2%
Top 7%
Touches (Def 3rd)
19.12
Top 8%
Goals/Shot on Target
0.57
Top 9%
Goals + Assists
0.37
Top 10%
Tkl+Int
4.30
Top 10%
Fouls Drawn
2.00
Top 10%
Dribblers Tackled
1.42
Top 12%
Penalty Kicks Won
0.03
Top 12%
These numbers help to back up the claim made by analyst Ben Mattinson that the youngster is a “duel monster” who is “brilliant at screening the backline.”
Going even further than that, talent scout Jacek Kulig called him a “one-man war machine in midfield” due to his ability to seemingly do it all and constantly dash from one box to another.
Ultimately, there would be an element of risk in starting Santos over Fernadez on Saturday, but the Argentine hasn’t looked anywhere near his best this season, and based on his performances last year, the Brazilian could be just what Chelsea need.