Gary Neville was not impressed with Enzo Fernandez’s performance against Manchester City and said the Chelsea star was “not joking” with anyone.
Chelsea started life under Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 defeat to City thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and former Blue Mateo Kovacic.
The Blues had some positive moments in the game but failed to find the opening goal and made two poor defensive errors which led to the goal.
Neville is not impressed by Fernandez
Fernandez, who captained the team in the absence of Reece James, was criticised for his performance, particularly in the first half where he struggled to make an impact both offensively and defensively.
The World Cup winner was deployed in a more advanced number ten role with Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo behind him, and after the summer he spent with the racism incident he was under the microscope.
Mauricio Pochettino deployed the Argentine in the number ten role on several occasions last season and the position does not appear to suit the 23-year-old, who is much better playing deeper.
Fernandez had a difficult afternoon against Manchester City.
Neville, commentating for Sky Sports, was unimpressed with Fernandez and was scathing in his criticism of the Argentina international.
“Enzo Fernandez puts a lot of pressure on himself when he can’t win,” he said.
“He then raises his arms to his teammates as if to say, ‘Where have you been?’ He’s not joking.
“I thought Chelsea would take more risks with the ball. But they were pretty basic. Chelsea’s midfield is being battered.”
It’s a big season for Fernandez, who hasn’t made a huge impact at Chelsea following his big-money move from Benfica in January 2023.
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He has obvious qualities and he has demonstrated them on several occasions, but like many of his teammates, he has not been able to demonstrate them consistently.
It will be interesting to see if Enzo Maresca continues to deploy him as a number ten given they have players like Christopher Nkunku who is much more suited to that role, while Joao Felix could also arrive from Atletico Madrid.
