"Why does he not use him?", "Maresca this defeat is on you" - Fans call out Chelsea boss for not subbing in key player after loss to Fulham

Chelsea fans took to X to berate coach Enzo Maresca for his decision to not sub in Joao Felix in their Premier League match against Fulham on Boxing Day. The Blues imploded in the final 10 minutes of the game as they blew a 1-0 lead and fell to a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge. Felix was part of the matchday squad, but he remained an unused substitute.

Chelsea enjoyed a period of dominance in the early minutes of the game and found the breakthrough in the 16th minute. Levi Colwill found Cole Palmer 40 yards from goal, and the latter beat two Fulham defenders before stroking the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Fulham, however, responded well by taking the game to the hosts. Their efforts paid dividends as they deservedly got the equalizer in the 82nd minute. Antonee Robinson’s cross into Chelsea’s box was headed towards goal by Timothy Castagne, allowing substitute Harry Wilson to nod it over the line.

Chelsea tried to restore their lead in the dying embers of the game, but left themselves short at the back. Rodrigo Muniz won it for Fulham at the death as he finished off a lightning-quick counterattack and made sure the Cottagers left the Bridge with all three points.

After the match, Chelsea fans were displeased with Enzo Maresca’s decision not to sub in Joao Felix and took to X to criticize him for it. A fan wrote:

''Please ask Maresca why does he not use Felix? Why does he have a squad of 1 billion and yet make only 1 sub? Is he afraid to take off Palmer.''

Another tweeted:

"Chelsea were never in the title race but we should be beating Fulham at home ffs. Enzo Maresca this defeat is on you for not bringing in Felix."

''Once again i'll ask why did we buy joao felix if maresca aint gonna use him?'' @officialshaun8 added.

''Maresca, you had felix on the bench yet you did not play him at all. Sancho and neto were shit yet they played the full 90. You are partly to blame for this maresca,'' @crew_delano wrote.

''I’m really disappointed in Maresca. Nkunku doesn’t influence the game at all as a St. We could’ve brought Felix on for Sancho,'' @Mattheus_Von chimed in.

"Enzo Maresca takes too long to make subs. Why didn't Jao Felix play??" @nexperdaniel1 wrote.

Enzo Maresca explains why he left Joao Felix on the bench in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham

Enzo Maresca explained why he didn’t use Joao Felix against Fulham on Thursday in his post-match comments. Maresca said the Portuguese forward was an unused substitute as he is facing tough competition for his position on the pitch.

Maresca’s tactical decision in the Fulham game raised eyebrows, as he only made one substitution in the entirety of the match. Explaining his reason for leaving Felix on the bench, he said (via Metro):

''The reason why is I just said, the reason why is because if you decide to put Marc Guiu, we have to change the one that is there and we decided to change Nico for Christo [Nkunku]."

''And then for Joao I said Joao more or less has the same position as Cole, in some games they already played together but then it’s a matter of balance, this is the season why.’

Chelsea are currently in the second position on the Premier League table with 35 points after 18 games.