“I dedicate it to him” – Enzo Maresca reveals why he celebrated this Chelsea goal in 4-2 win against Gent
Enzo Maresca has disclosed that his happy celebrations following Chelsea’s fourth goal against Gent were motivated by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s first goal for the club.
Dewsbury-Hall joined Chelsea for £30 million from Leicester City in the summer, but he has battled for consistent first-team action in the early stages of the season.
The 26-year-old has played 44 minutes as a substitute in three Premier League games, with the majority of his time coming in cup competitions.
Dewsbury-Hall’s dismal start to the season follows a career-best season in 2023/24, when the midfielder led Maresca’s Leicester squad to Premier League promotion.
Maresca has opened up on his celebration after the midfielder’s goal and said he was delighted after Dewsbury-Hall enjoyed a ‘needed’ moment in a Chelsea shirt.
“I know Kiernan very well from last year. I completely understand how difficult it is for Kiernan at this moment,” he said at his post-match press conference.
“I know when you are the main player and then move to a big club it’s not easy because you’re not the main player, and you’re on the bench or not in the squad.
“Sometimes you struggle a bit at the beginning, but he has to understand the reason he is here is because we want him, so I was very happy for him. The celebration was because I know he needed that.”
Chelsea secured a 4-2 win over Gent in their Europa Conference League opener, with Renato Veiga also scoring his first goal in Blue. Christopher Nkunku and Pedro Neto were also on target as Chelsea recorded a fifth consecutive win in all competitions.
Maresca pleased with Chelsea performance against Gent
“It was a good performance and overall I’m happy with the performance and the result,” Maresca said.
“It was a tough game and we approached it very well. Every game is complicated, it’s never easy. We changed players but you could still see the identity and the purpose of the team.
“For sure we can do many things better. The most important thing we can learn tonight is that even if we are 4-1 up, you have to switch on until the final whistle. You cannot switch off. We conceded the second goal because we saw the game was finished. If we want to be one step forward, even if it’s 4-1, we have to continue and not concede another goal.”