Noni Madueke has been told by head coach Enzo Maresca that he “has to give more” despite an impressive performance for the Blues away at Southampton on Wednesday night.
Madueke scored his fifth goal of the season when notching the third against the Saints at St Mary’s. He is the Blues’ third-highest scorer so far and also has two assists to his name.
football.london reporter Bobby Vincent dished out an eight out of ten in his post-match player ratings, giving the England man the man of the match award as a result. Vincent said: “Exceptional for Nkunku’s goal. Brilliant pressing and anticipation. Exceptional for his goal, too, shifting the ball onto his left foot before finding the far corner with a lovely strike. Great performance but the only complaint would be how he did not score more than his one goal.”
The 5-1 win was their fifth away victory of the season and they sit second in the away table, just behind Liverpool. But Maresca is demanding more, particularly from Madueke.
The 22-year-old was dropped for the win over Aston Villa at the weekend, making a point to his boss in the Saints victory. Now he has to do it consistently and with a match against his former club Tottenham coming up this weekend, Maresca has sent a clear and pointed message to the frontman.
Speaking after the Saints win, Maresca said: “With Noni, I have personal relation in terms of he can do much more. He can do much more. The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit and the reason why he was not playing is because I do not like the way he trained.
“He has to understand that he has to train every day good. He has to be ambitious. He scored one tonight, he has to go for the second one and the third one. He has to give more assists.
