- Manchester City triumphed 2-0 over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday
- Gary Neville and former Chelsea star Pat Nevin took aim at one Blues star in particular
- LISTEN NOW: It’s all about to begin! available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Gary Neville was particularly critical of the performance of one Chelsea star player during Manchester City’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge last Sunday.
Goals from Erling Haaland and former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic gave City their first win of the new season – and Enzo Maresca a defeat in his debut game as Blues manager.
Although Maresca opted for a three-man midfield of Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia against the champions in order to control the game and better protect the defence, Chelsea were outclassed in the engine room by Pep Guardiola’s dominant team.
While co-commentating for Sky Sports, Neville gave a scathing assessment of Fernandez’s performance, criticising the Argentine star for his continued failure to win the ball while pressuring City.
“Enzo Fernandez puts pressure even when he can’t win,” Neville said.
Gary Neville gave a scathing assessment of Enzo Fernandez’s performance on Sunday
Erling Haaland scored his first of the season as Man City beat the Blues 2-0 at Stamford Bridge
Neville criticised Fernandez for ‘throwing his arms at his teammates’ after struggling to win the ball while pressuring Man City players – and said the Argentine ‘isn’t fooling anyone’
‘He then throws his arms up to his teammates as if to say, “Where were you?” He’s not fooling anyone.
‘I thought Chelsea would take a few more risks with the ball. But they’ve been quite basic. Chelsea’s midfield is being completely destroyed.’
Caicedo (£115m), Fernandez (£107m) and Lavia (£53m) joined Chelsea last summer for a combined fee of £275m.
Former Chelsea star Pat Nevin also criticised Fernandez following the disappointing defeat, negatively comparing the Argentine to team-mate Conor Gallagher ahead of the midfielder’s expected move to Atletico Madrid.
“Enzo has been very, very quiet in that Number 10 position,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
‘You have to be at the centre of everything in that position. If you’re Conor Gallagher, you’d think you could do better than that.
Former Manchester United defender said Chelsea’s midfield was ‘rushed’ last weekend
Chelsea fans sang for Conor Gallagher ahead of his expected move to Atletico Madrid
‘Enzo doesn’t come back and cover the space, but he doesn’t do much forward either. He needs to do more for the team defensively.’
Shortly after City took the lead in the first half through Haaland, Chelsea fans chanted Gallagher’s name in clear disappointment at the club’s decision to sell the England international.