“Stinking out the place lately”, “Finally benched I'm crying” - Chelsea fans react as duo dropped to the bench for Ipswich Town clash

Fans took to X to express their reactions after Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca dropped two regular starters, Robert Sanchez and Nicolas Jackson, for their clash against Ipswich Town. The two teams are facing off in the Premier League at Portman Road.

Chelsea have endured disappointing results in their last two league matches. They were held to a goalless stalemate at Goodison Park by Everton on December 22 and suffered a defeat to London counterparts Fulham on Boxing Day.

After they dropped crucial points in both matches, they now sit in the fourth position on the league table, having been in second place for some weeks.

Chelsea’s shot stopper Robert Sanchez and striker Nicolas Jackson have both been included in the starting lineup in all the Blues league matches this season, barring the game against Southampton. Both players were unused substitutes against the Saints as Chelsea cruised to a 5-1 victory at the St. Mary stadium.

While Sanchez is the Blues' no. 1, the Spaniard has made errors that have proven costly for Maresca’s side. Jackson, on the other hand, failed to make an impact in Chelsea’s last two games as he couldn’t find the back of the net. Enzo has now taken the bold decision to name both players from the bench for the clash against the Tractor Boys.

Filip Jorgensen replaced Robert Sanchez in goal and Christopher Nkunku replaced Nicolas Jackson as Chelsea's frontman.

After the lineup was released, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to give their opinions about the tactical changes.

An X user wrote:

''They been stinking out the place lately especially Sanchez''

Another sarcastiscally posted:

''Finally sanchez benched I'm crying."

''Nice one there for dropping Sanchez'' another wrote

''Enzo Maresca wasn’t lying when he said Sanchez gets dropped as soon as he stops trying to play out from the back, and starts playing long balls. Wow. Gaffer.'' another added

''Thank Goodness we are trying a different goalkeeper'' @OmoniyiMrbaby chimed in

"Kieran McKenna is doing fantastic" - Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca ahead of Premier League clash with Ipswich Town

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca spoke about Ipswich Town and their manager, Kieran McKenna, ahead of tonight’s match. The Italian manager praised his counterpart, saying he is doing a "fantastic" job at Ipswich. He also said his side will try to come out victorious in the clash.

He told the club’s website:

''All the Premier League games are complicated, no matter who the other team is. Every game we play is complicated, and you also see how you can struggle to beat teams. That’s because every match in the Premier League is difficult. The Ipswich game will be exactly the same."

''Kieran McKenna is doing fantastic. Since he joined Ipswich a few years ago, they are doing top. Even this year they are doing well. I would like to say congratulations to him for the job he is doing ever since he joined the club."

On building momentum, he added:

''We are going to try to prepare for the game in the way we always try to, which is to win the game. We have bad feelings about the last game we lost against Fulham, and hopefully we can come back with three points after this game."