“Growing… improving” – Enzo Maresca on what teenager needs to do

Enzo Maresca is taking his press conference ahead of Chelsea’s game in Barcelona and there’s a lot to cover after an important win at the weekend and with two big games this week.

One subject which came up early on was the form of Marc Guiu, who set up Enzo Fernandez’s goal against Burnley after coming on as a sub. Given Chelsea player his former team tomorrow night, it felt like a good time to talk about him.

Maresca says young player is “growing and improving”

Marc Guiu against Liverpool. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

“Marc is doing really well. He was here last season and had the chance to play a lot and then got injured,” Maresca said.

“He is growing, he is improving. At the start, it was a bit difficult because of injuries but he is working very hard and we are pleased with him. He is young; he needs to keep learning so he is ready when the opportunities arrive.”

We’ve already written about some of the praise that Guiu has been getting, and we don’t expect it to stop anytime soon if he keeps making an impact like that off the bench.

Liam Delap will be feeling the pressure as a starter very soon if he doesn’t find the net. Clearly Maresca likes using Joao Pedro off a line-leading 9, and Guiu is offering more in that role as a sub than Delap is as a starter right now.

In other news…

Lamine Yamal was compared to Estevao Willian in the press conference, and you can imagine just how Enzo Maresca dealt with that comparison.

In other Yamal news, Maresca was asked whether he planned to use former Barcelona man Marc Cucurella to stop him, and while he played down the threat, we all know it’s going to be a key duel.