Enzo Maresca has been told to find a place for Joao Felix in his starting XI after an electric outing in the Carabao Cup, as Chelsea defeated Barrow 5-0.
Maresca’s side were able to overwhelm the visitors with a star-studded attack. Felix was joined by hat-trick hero Christopher Nkunku in an attack worth more than £200million, as Mykhailo Mudryk and Pedro Neto both started in a side that saw 11 changes.
The Blues got off to a lethal start against their League Two opposition and found themselves three goals to the good before the half hour mark had even arrived. Portugal international Felix was instrumental in the west London side reaching that point at Stamford Bridge.
Felix made his return to west London last month in a deal worth up to £46.3million, after spending half a season on loan at the club in 2023. Thus far, he has only appeared from the bench in the Premier League and made his first start of the season against the Cumbrian opponents.
It only took until the eighth minute for Felix to make an impact. The 24-year-old produced an inventive scoop to send Nkunku through to open the scoring.
After the Frenchman had doubled Chelsea’s lead with a smart flick from Malo Gusto’s cross, it was time for Felix to step up once again. The Blues star took responsibility from a free-kick on the edge of the area.
The former Atletico Madrid forward stepped up but hit the post with his effort before seeing his strike rebound of goalke myeper Paul Farman and into the net. Felix was soon shaking hands with teammates Renato Veiga and Axel Disasi for a job well done.
It appears Blues’ supporters were equally impressed with his efforts. Many have already called for him to be included in the club’s first choice XI by Maresca.
“Bench whoever we have to to play Felix,” said one user on X. “Doesn’t matter who, he can’t be on the bench EVER.”
They weren’t alone in such an opinion as one supporter stated: “Early times but Joao Felix starts in this Chelsea team when everything is all settled.”
“When Joao Felix hits the ball, you know the end result,” said another, as a fourth fan added: “That’s exactly why I wanted Felix back. Special player.”
Felix was not the only player to impress as the Blues made light work of their oppositiong. Nkunku was involved again after the restart to feed the ball to Mykailo Mudryk, who in turn able to square the ball to provide Pedro Neto with a simple finish.
With victory sealed, Ben Chilwell was sent on for his first minutes of the season with teenagers Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong also introduced. Nkunku’s third strike sparked more changes at 5-0 as Carney Chukwuemeka and Marc Guiu entered the fray on a successful evening for Maresca.
