Enzo Maresca once again undermines fans’ intelligence with a weak and dismissive reply to a question about the lineup.

We recently shared our shock over Enzo Maresca’s lineup for Chelsea’s match against Legia Warsaw. We ended that piece by saying we were eagerly waiting for the post-match press conference to hear how he’d justify it.

Turns out, we didn’t have to wait long. Unsurprisingly, TNT Sport went straight for it in the pre-match interview. The big question: why start such a strong squad in the second leg of a tie already comfortably in Chelsea’s favor, especially with a far more important fixture coming up on Sunday?

Maresca’s response? As vague as ever. “As I said yesterday, we try to prepare the game always in the best way with the ones we think are the right ones,” he told the cameras. “Hopefully, we can have a good result and reach the semi-final.”

That doesn’t address the real issue at all. There’s no consideration of the risk of fatigue or injury ahead of Sunday. It feels like a dismissal of fans genuinely trying to understand his logic—if there is any.

His reasoning might sound like standard coach-speak, but it completely ignores what many feel is a clear miscalculation. Sure, it’s about reaching the next round, but what about maintaining squad fitness for upcoming challenges?

With a 3-0 lead going into tonight, a second-string side could likely have gotten the job done. If Maresca wanted to test something or keep momentum, fair enough—but at least give a straight answer. Without that, it just looks like a baffling decision that fans are left to make sense of on their own.