“It didn’t seem to me Mateo Kovačić second goal was a fluke and a lucky goal he can’t score such again- Enzo Maresca insists Manchester City second goal was a fluke

After letting Raheem Sterling off for a pivotal game against Manchester City, Enzo Maresca has responded brutally.

Chelsea welcomes champions Manchester City to Stamford Bridge, thereby starting their Premier League campaign on Sunday afternoon.

Maresca left Forward Sterling off the team, which caused the former City winger to make a statement requesting explanation on his future.

And now the new Chelsea manager has not held back when responding to Sterling’s slide.

Maresca remarked, speaking with Sky Sports, “It is just a technical judgment, nothing else to say.

“Managers are paid to make choices; sometimes players object to them.”

Having scored in both Premier League games between the two teams last season, Sterling was a stunning absence from the Chelsea team.

During the build-up to the 2024/25 season, Maresca branded the 29-year-old “essential player” after she participated in all six of Chelsea’s pre-season games.

Consequently, a statement from the player’s management team appeared in the Daily Mail minutes after the squad sheets for the Manchester City match were revealed with Sterling missing.

It said: “Raheem Sterling contracts three years to Chelsea Football Club. Two weeks early, he went back to England for individual training; under the new coach, who he has become close to, his pre-season has been fantastic.