Enzo Maresca must not make hasty Chelsea decision after what happened vs Bournemouth
Chelsea kept their first Premier League clean sheet away from home in almost 12 months on Saturday evening.
A 1-0 victory at Bournemouth, courtesy of an 86th-minute strike from Christopher Nkunku, saw the Blues' defence cancel out the opposition attack on the road for the first time since the 2-0 win against Fulham on October 2 of last year. It was not pretty - far from it, at times - but the Chelsea defence eventually got the job done.
One man, though, who did not cover himself in glory down at the Vitality Stadium was Wesley Fofana. The ball came back to the Frenchman and he opted to try and play it back to Robert Sanchez, when he really should have just got rid of it by any means necessary.
Evanilson got to the loose ball first before lifting over Sanchez and being fouled by the goalkeeper. Fortunately for Chelsea - and crucially for Fofana - Sanchez was equal to the penalty in what turned out to be a decisive moment down on the south coast.
It was a rash moment from Fofana; a lazy pass and ultimately the wrong decision but one that he got away with. Unfortunately for Fofana, there have been a couple of moments like that so far this season - and already, there are some calls on social media for the 23-year-old defender to be dropped from the starting line-up at the weekend against West Ham United.
That, though, should not be the case. We are talking about a man that has just come back from over a year on the sidelines through injury - a significant problem that takes a while to recover from. While there can be recovery off-the-pitch, the only way to get back to your absolute best is to get regular minutes on the football pitch.
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And despite the adversity that has faced him in the early stages of the season, there have certainly been glimpses of the talented Frenchman nearing his best. His aggression, speed and dynamism means he is the perfect defensive partner for Levi Colwill, who has flourished early on in the 2024/25 campaign.
A certain level of context is needed for Fofana with his performances - good or bad - given his injury last season. He himself knows that better than anyone and spoke about the long process ahead of him in pre-season in an interview with football.london: "I feel better for sure.
"But it is hard, because I feel I need a bit of time for fitness. It is good, I am playing and training a lot. It is step-by-step, it is a long process. After one year I am not back in the same shape in a day. I am happy like this."
While he has played every minute in the Premier League for the Blues this season, he is not back to 100% yet and his withdrawal from the France squad should tell you just that. Fofana loves playing for his country and wants to be a regular for Les Bleus in seasons to come, but he took the decision himself a fortnight ago to back out of Didier Deschamps' plans to focus on his fitness.
Short-term pain for long-term gain. A saying that certainly applies to Fofana's decision to stay at Cobham but one that could also describe what Chelsea supporters need to go through with the defender.
He is not yet back to his brilliant best. Granted. But once he does, then Enzo Maresca's decision to keep him in the side during a fairly difficult period will be vindicated because Chelsea will have one of the brightest defensive talents in European football alongside another in Colwill.