Chelsea Coach Makes Bold Squad Decisions After Liverpool Defeat: James Dropped

• Chelsea have dropped five key players from their squad that will play Panathinaikos in the Conference League
• The Blues have opted to rest Reece James, among others, who only returned to competitive action on Sunday
• Chelsea suffered a blip to their good start to the season after going 2-1 down to Liverpool at Anfield

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, made some interesting changes to the squad that travelled to Greece for their UEFA Conference League tie.

The Blues have made the long 30-hour-plus journey to Athens to play Panathinaikos on the second matchday of the competition.

The game comes when the West Londoners are winless in two of their last games. Nottingham Forest held them to a one-all draw before Liverpool beat them 2-1 at Anfield after the international break.

Read also

Chelsea kick out star from squad, give him strict ultimatum to resolve situation

Maresca will be looking to make it two wins out of two in Chelsea's maiden appearance at the competition. The Italian masterminded the 4-2 win over Belgian side Gent.

Chelsea drop key players

However, he will have to do so with a 'fringe' squad after he elected to leave a couple of his big names at home.

Reactions to the post:

Here are some of the responses from netizens.

@Rider_Spinky:

"They will have to explain to us why Liverpool had to sit back and defend."

@Rayna4Lyf:

"A straight win for Chelsea."

@JamesKumenda:

"Safe journey."

@moonxyz_:

"They should just give Chelsea the trophy, because I’m tired of defeating all these innocent teams at the conference league."

@stephraysan:

"I feel sorry for Panathinaikos, we will vent all that pain of the weekend on them."

Read also

How much Cristiano Ronaldo has earned in Saudi Arabia since ditching Man United

@iam_loyall:

"Conference cup is ours this season and no doubt."

@iam_igumira:

"Did our captain travel with the boys?"

@iam_loyall:

"When is Cucullera coming back?"

As captured on the club's website, captain Reece James, lead striker Nicolas Jackson, midfield lynchpin Moises Caicedo and defensive duo Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto have all been dropped.

The players join Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, and Wesley Fofana, who were omitted from the squad that will play in the league phase.

Chelsea's next fixtures

The decision comes at a time when Chelsea have a tricky set of fixtures on the horizon. Maresca has been vocal about giving his players, especially the injury-prone ones like James, Fofana and Lavia, enough rest.

After the Greece trip, they have back-to-back games against Newcastle in the league and Carabao Cup before travelling to Old Trafford to play Manchester United. They will then entertain Arsenal in a London derby before the November international break.

Read also

Ibrahimovic and Rooney in Talks for Epic Boxing Bout

Chelsea kicks highly-rated defender from training

Briefly News had earlier reported that Chelsea had kicked out defender Josh Acheampong from training.

The right-back has been isolated from first-team and development squad training as disputes over his contract continue. His current contract expires in 2026, but the club wants him to sign a new one or be sold.

Source: TUKO.co.ke