Enzo Maresca hopes Noni Madueke remains at Chelsea

Winger comes off bench to score in victory over Servette in Conference League play-off

Chelsea's Noni Madueke, right, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Europa Conference League play-off first leg soccer match between Chelsea and Servette, at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo / Alastair Grant)Show less

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he hopes Noni Madueke stays at the club after he helped secure a 2-0 victory over Servette in their Conference League play-off round first leg on Thursday.

The hosts struggled to break down their opponents in the first half at Stamford Bridge before Christopher Nkunku put them in front with a 50th-minute penalty, just his fourth goal for the club.

Marc Guiu somehow contrived to miss an open goal a few minutes later, but Madueke moved Chelsea closer to a group-stage place ahead of next week's second leg by firing home from Enzo Fernandez's pass.

It was a welcome win for Chelsea after suffering a 2-0 loss in Maresca's debut game against Manchester City at the weekend.

Maresca said he wants Madueke to stay at the club beyond the end of the transfer window after the winger came off the bench to score.

The 22-year-old cemented his place in the Italian's plans with a clinical finish at the near post in the second half of what was at times an uncomfortable match against the Swiss side.

"I really like Noni," said Maresca. "The only problem is that he has to understand that he has to be consistent during the week in training. He's a good player and he's doing well with us."

Asked whether Madueke has a future at Chelsea, he said: "Yeah absolutely. But the reality is until the window closes, anything can happen. But for sure Noni is the kind of player that I like. We have so many games. If it's to today it will be the next one, or the next one. Noni, I like him. He's doing well since he started with us.

"The only thing he has to improve is consistency; every day, every day work hard. Then he will get minutes for sure."

The Blues were making their return to European competition after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season under Mauricio Pochettino.

However, Chelsea remain saddled with a number of problems, the main one being a bloated squad that they need to trim drastically and quickly.

Some players also need to live up to their promise. One of them is Mykhailo Mudryk.

Mudryk has struggled to justify his huge price tag since joining Chelsea from Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk in January last year, and Thursday's match was one of the few times he has played the full 90 minutes.

Chelsea paid an initial €70 million for the 23-year-old with another €30m in add-ons.

"I think this is Mudryk, in terms of not only tonight, but in terms of since he joined the club. I think he had some good moments and then some moments like flipping a coin," Maresca said.

"You don't know if it's one thing or the other thing. If he can become more consistent, he can take one step forward. We are going to try and help him change.

"When he is in the last third it is about taking the right decision. For me, most of the mistakes from Misha is not about the quality or the technical mistake, it's about the choice."