Enzo Maresca delivers blunt verdict on Noni Madueke's X-rated social media post
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca was asked for his take on an offensive social media post shared by Noni Madueke on the eve of Sunday's thumping 6-2 win over Wolves
Enzo Maresca refused to condemn Noni Madueke for his ill-judged social media post in the aftermath of the winger's hat-trick against Wolves.
Madueke, 22, plundered three of Chelsea 's goals in an emphatic 6-2 win. Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and new signing Joao Felix also got on the scoresheet for the Blues, who got their season up and running in style.
The ex-England youth international had sparked controversy in the build-up to Sunday's match after writing “this place is s***” in a social media post directed at Wolverhampton.
Madueke was booed throughout the majority of the match at Molineux as a result but silenced his critics with a match-winning haul - and Maresca was keen to praise his player rather than scold him.
“To be honest, I didn't know. They just mentioned to me now but I didn't know about Noni's social post. I can judge Noni's performance - it was fantastic. Not only the second-half but also the first-half, he was always one-v-one creating something.
“From day one I've said he is the kind of winger I really like. He is working really well for us. The best thing today from Noni was not his hat-trick but the way he defended. 90 minutes, that showed the right mentality that I'm demanding from the players.
“For Chris Nkunku; he played five minutes and was pressing everyone. Joao Felix was the same. If we want to build something important; then first of all we need the right mentality and that was very good.”
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When he was then asked if he had to remind players about their conduct while using social media, the Italian added: “I am the kind of person who trusts people. I think people are mature enough to know what is correct and not correct. In this case, I think Noni is mature enough to understand what he did, if it's correct or not correct."
While Maresca was seemingly reluctant to comment on the drama, Madueke did apologise for the post on Sunday after explaining he didn't mean to share it publicly.
“I just want to apologise to everyone that I might have offended. It is just a human mistake, an accident. It wasn’t meant to be out on my socials like that. I’m sure Wolverhampton is a nice town and I’m sorry.”
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