Chelsea fans have praised Enzo Fernandez following his display in Argentina's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Bolivia.
La Albiceleste traveled to the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Pas to take on La Verde on Tuesday, September 12. Lionel Scaloni's men romped to a 3-0 victory to continue their perfect to their qualifying campaign.
With talismanic skipper Lionel Messi rested, Argentina needed others to step up, and Fernandez was among those who did so. The Chelsea man made a darting run past the Bolivian defense to get onto the end of Angel Di Maria's cross and poke the ball home, giving his team the lead in the 31st minute.
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Shortly after he scored, Blues fans on X (formerly Twitter) heaped praise on the 22-year-old, with one of them writing:
"He’s so special man"
Another tweeted:
"That’s my starboy"
Here are some more reactions from fans:
Apart from scoring Argentina's opener, Fernandez was his usual composed self on the ball and contributed defensively too.
He completed 33 of his 39 attempted passes (85% accuracy) and recorded three shots on target apart from hitting the crossbar with a thunderous strike from distance. The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner also won two fouls and three of his six duels, while recording a clearance as well.
Just eight minutes after Fernandez's strike, Bolivia's Roberto Fernandez, who was already booked, was shown a straight red for a terrible tackle on Cristian Romero. Goals from Nicolas Tagliafico (42') and Nicolas Gonzalez (83') then helped Argentina take full advantage of the situation and win the contest 3-0.
Enzo Fernandez has had a middling start to the 2023-24 club season with Chelsea
While Enzo Fernandez has starred for Argentina in the ongoing international break, that hasn't been the case with his club. Chelsea currently find themselves 12th in the Premier League standings with two losses, a draw and just one win from four matches.
Fernandez has started and completed all of those contests, but is yet to score or assist a goal. He has averaged 2.8 key passes, 1.3 tackles and 4.5 balls recovered per game. The Argentine has also completed 91% of his passes, while recording 1.0 successful dribbles, 1.5 fouls won and 4.5 duels won per match.
However, he has missed two big chances and lost possession 16.8 times per game.
Fernandez did, however, score the winner in Chelsea's comeback win over AFC Wimbledon in the second round of the Carabao Cup. The teams were locked at 1-1 when he came on in the 65th minute, and the midfielder got onto the scoresheet just seven minutes later.
