Enzo Maresca fires another Chelsea player after Noni Madueke's decision

Enzo Maresca said that he fired another Chelsea player, displaying his nasty side once more. During Chelsea's Boxing Day loss to Fulham, manager Maresca benched Portugal international Renato Veiga. In addition, England winger Noni Madueke was also cut from the Chelsea team, which is not the first time this season that he has been let go.

Enzo Maresca characterized both decisions as "technical," which essentially implies that neither was hurt but both did something that the no-nonsense manager did not like. Veiga, a 12 million euros summer acquisition, has made seven appearances this season and has been a mainstay in the squad; Chelsea had to add extra players to the bench because of his absence.

Maresca, however, refused to have anger and stated that he expects a strong response from both of them. He also stated that they will be back in the running for Monday's match against Ipswich. According to Maresca, "For sure, the competition has to be higher but not only for Noni Madueke but also Renato Veiga was not in the squad and the reason is exactly the same for both of them. There is not any different reason, it's just a technical decision."

Chelsea aiming for Premier League title

This is not the first time this season that Maresca has named and humiliated Madueke, who seems to be exercising tough love toward the Chelsea player. Back in August, Maresca sent Madueke a warning on his training "consistency" levels.

Due to Madueke's poor performance during one training session earlier this month, Maresca benched him for the victory over Aston Villa. In reaction, the Chelsea winger scored in his subsequent game, a 5-1 victory at Southampton, and he stated that he hopes both players will respond similarly in the Ipswich match. England star Cole Palmer feels that the Fulham loss indicates that they still have a ways to go before contending for the title, but they need to bounce back against Ipswich.