Maresca praises ‘professional’ Chelsea as Blues beat Morecambe in League Two in the FA Cup

Enzo Maresca hailed a “professional” performance from his players as Chelsea comfortably saw off League Two side Morecambe 5-0 in the third round of the FA Cup.

Tosin Adarabioyo and Joao Felix grabbed the goals while Christopher Nkunku, who saw a first-half penalty saved, also scored to ensure there would be no surprises at Stamford Bridge.

Eighty-seven places separate the two sides in the English football pyramid, and in the end the gulf in quality was evident as Maresca’s side convincingly progressed to the fourth round.

Advance to the fourth round #EmiratesFACup! 🏆#CFC pic.twitter.com/Eqw9mWrJdd

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 11, 2025

Speaking after the game, Maresca said: “It was a good afternoon in terms of a win, that’s important. Also, the performance in this kind of match shows how serious and professional we are.

“The FA Cup is an important competition. Since we started, we try to deal with every competition in the same way. We try to do our best in every competition.”

The Chelsea manager, who took the opportunity to make major changes to his starting eleven, revealed that Noni Madueke had missed the game due to illness.

Maresca also sympathized with the need to be patient with the fitness of returning players such as Reece James, adding that players like Nkunku and Felix will let their football do the talking.

“The idea is to slowly build the right condition,” Maresca said. “Especially with Reece (James), we have to be a bit more careful. Both he and Romeo (Lavia) finished well with no problems. We have to help them get into the right state.

“Christo (Nkunku) and Joao (Felix) didn’t knock on the door or ask anything, but they don’t have to.”

Next up for Chelsea is a visit to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Tuesday.