Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca singled out Tyrique George for praise after the Blues lost 2-1 to Servette on Thursday night, insisting he ‘had personality’.
The 18-year-old wonderkid was named on the bench for the second-leg clash and was thrown into the XI on 62 minutes as he replaced Noni Madueke.
Despite Chelsea losing the match, George impressed his head coach, as the west Londoners won their Europa Conference League play-off 3-2 on aggregate.
‘He was good!’ Maresca said after the match, with Chelsea’s spot in the Europa Conference League now officially confirmed thanks to their first-leg victory.
‘He was not shy. He had personality. We also had Josh Acheampong on the bench.
‘Unfortunately [Ollie] Harrison was not on the bench. It’s important to build something with the academy players.’
Maresca admits that he was ‘very worried’ about the second-leg clash with Servette and knew that it would be a potential banana skin for his side.
‘I think the first half an hour was comfortable and we had three or four chances to make it 2-0,’ the Italian added.
‘Then we concede the goal and it’s normal to suffer a little bit. I was very worried about this game.
‘For them, it’s probably their biggest game of the season. This kind of game, you have many things to lose and not many things to win.
‘This is why I was so worried yesterday and before the game. It’s a competition that we are going to try and do our best.
‘The team, the way we started, the team was there and then we conceded, they had some chances and then we lost a little bit of confidence.’
Quizzed about Madueke being named in the latest England squad, Maresca added: ‘[I am] very happy. The important thing for him is to not drop anything and keep working hard.’
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