Enzo Maresca says he had no doubts that new Chelsea signing Liam Delap would hit the bottom working after his superb cameo of their opening Membership World Cup win over Los Angeles FC.
Delap got here off the bench within the second half and wanted simply quarter-hour to tee up fellow substitute Enzo Fernandez in Monday’s 2-0 victory in Atlanta.
Maresca, who labored with the England Below-21s worldwide through the pair’s time with Manchester Metropolis’s academy, had beforehand stated he expects Delap to turn into England’s quantity 9.
The 22-year-old duly delivered with a powerful substitute efficiency, although it got here as little shock to Chelsea head coach Maresca.
“The benefit of Liam is that he is aware of the way in which we need to play, so the method is sort of fast,” Maresca stated reside on Channel 5.
Nicolas Jackson had earlier obtained the nod to steer the road as Maresca’s first-choice putting possibility, and he performed a key position in establishing Pedro Neto’s well-taken opener within the thirty fourth minute.
Delap may have had one other help to his identify, nonetheless, creating two possibilities, a tally bettered by solely Neto (4) and Jackson (three) for both facet.
“It’s all the time wholesome to have competitors,” Delap stated on Channel 5 in his post-match interview when requested about Senegal’s Jackson.
“It’s soccer and it’s an unimaginable membership, so it’s going to be exhausting, however you’ve obtained to thrive off competitors.”
Delap for his debut!
1-0 [64] pic.twitter.com/KW8PnzLW2E
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 16, 2025
Delap scored 12 objectives for Ipswich City final season earlier than sealing a reported £30m transfer to Stamford Bridge this month after relegation with Kieran McKenna’s facet.
It stays to be seen who Maresca’s first-choice possibility might be when the Premier League season begins in August, although Delap is already beginning to really feel settled in together with his new crew.
“It was actually thrilling to be right here, to play my first sport and contribute, it’s a superb feeling,” he continued. “They’ve welcomed me, I’ve solely had just a few periods, however I can’t look forward to much more.”
Maresca’s speedy focus won’t flip to the striker debate, nonetheless, with Brazilian giants Flamengo to observe on Friday.
“We have to get better, sport in three days, we’ll see,” the Italian added. “We’ll attempt to put together in the easiest way and attempt to win.
“At this stage of the season, it is usually regular that you must handle totally different sorts of issues. General, the efficiency has been good.”
