"We are done", "Going to be a long night" - Chelsea fans react as 26-year-old star starts in Conference League clash against Gent
Fans have reacted as Chelsea included right-back Axel Disasi in their XI to face visiting Gent in their UEFA Europa Conference League opener at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday (October 3).
Enzo Maresca's side are on a five-game unbeaten run across competitions - winning the last four - including a 4-2 Premier League home win against Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend.
Cole Palmer - who scored all four goals against Brighton - is not a part of the squad to face the Belgian side, with Axel Disasi captaining the new-look Blues.
However, fans are far from enthused with the choice at right-back, with one tweeting:
"Disasi right-back we are done"
Another chimed in:
"Disasi at RB papa godddddd it's gonna be a long night . . . Better outscore this team tabh backside"
There were similar reactions from other fans, with one posting:
"Disasi at RB have mercy plz"
Another commented:
"Disasi brother please behave for once"
One fan wrote:
"Still worried about disasi tho"
Another posted:
"10 men against Gent, but we will win. Yh I didn’t see Disasi"
The Blues are starting with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with striker Christopher Nkunku the lone man up front, with the duo of Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix and Pedro Neto starting just behind him.
Chelsea boss explains squad rotation for Gent clash
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has rung the changes for the Gent visit, making changes galore from the side that beat Brighton in the Premier League at the weekend.
Explaining the changes to his XI for the Europa Conference League game, Maresca said that it's not going to be the case going forward for all games. The Italian elaborated (as per the BBC):
"At the moment, it looks like we have players that are playing in the Premier League and players that are playing in the cups. In this moment it is like this, but in general, it won't be like this."
About the team's improvement under him, Maresca said:
"If you analyse the results probably yes but sometimes you don't win games and the performance is good when you deserve to win, for example, Palace. Sometimes you win games that you don't deserve, for example, Bournemouth. It depends how you judge. We have many things we need to improve but we are happy because the feeling is good."
Chelsea began the Maresca era with a 2-0 Premier League home defeat to fpur-time defending champions Manchester City but have lost only once in eight games since then, winning six.