Alan Shearer singled out a ‘clever’ Chelsea star for praise after playing a key role in the 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Second-half goals from Josh Acheampong, Pedro Neto and Reece James secured the three points at the City Ground and triggered Forest to sack Ange Postecoglou just minutes after full-time.
The scoreline suggests it was an easy victory for Chelsea but the away side found themselves under a lot of pressure in the first-half and could easily have gone into the break trailing.
In an attempt to turn things around, Enzo Maresca made three changes at half-time, including bringing on striker Marc Guiu who has struggled for game time since his transfer from Barcelona last year.
Prior to the match, the 19-year-old had played just 86 minutes of Premier League football for the Blues and had actually been loaned out to Sunderland for this season, only to be quickly recalled following an injury to Liam Delap.
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Shearer says having a more natural No.9 like Guiu greatly improved Chelsea’s performance, saying on Match of the Day: ‘Not only did he [Maresca] bring Jamie Gittens and Moises Caicedo on to bring a bit of solidity, he brought Guiu on.
‘You can see the difference. Joao Pedro is now predominantly playing in the 10, Guiu’s the centre-forward, he’s running in behind, and all of a sudden, it changes.
‘They’re now playing on the front foot, they’re now getting chances in the final third, Guiu’s coming short, but he’s also asking questions in behind. He makes such a clever run, again making it difficult for the Forest defence, they’re having to think again.
‘Chelsea I think were without doubt much, much better for those changes at half-time.’
While his top-flight opportunities have been limited so far, Guiu has shown signs he can be an elite striker, scoring six goals in seven Conference League appearances en route to lifting the trophy last season.
Maresca was pleased with the teenager’s contribution but defended his decision to not start him against Forest, explaining that he thought the opposition would line-up in a way that was better suited to Pedro playing up top.
‘I think he [Guiu] was on for 15 minutes against Liverpool, fighting with Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch, and he was very good,’ the Chelsea boss said.
‘Today, after one minute of the second half, he won a corner against Morato. So we need that from Marc.
‘Jamie came on, he was okay. And I think Marc Guiu was good. But also we planned the game expecting them back-four, not back-five. I think back-four with Joao Pedro at No.9 is better.
‘With back-five, Joao Pedro at No.9 is not… If you remember, West Ham away, back-five, we played Liam Delap and Joao Pedro against a back-five. So we expected them back four, but they were back five. And then after half-time, we changed.’
Guiu may get another chance to impress when Chelsea host Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday.
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