Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has explained why he took Cole Palmer off at half-time in their Europa Conference League match against Legia Warsaw.

Palmer started the game in Poland, but did not return after the first half. Chelsea found it hard to break through Legia’s defense during the opening 45 minutes.

At half-time, Maresca made two changes. He replaced Palmer and Tosin Adarabioyo with Noni Madueke and Levi Colwill. These changes helped Chelsea improve. Tyrique George scored the first goal, and Madueke followed with two quick goals.

After the match, Maresca said the substitutions were planned in advance.

“We planned for him and Tosin to come off at 45 minutes. Everything is fine,” Maresca said.

He added that the team wanted to keep key players fresh and also give others a chance to play.