Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has explained why he dropped forward Noni Madueke in recent games.

The Blues thumped Southampton 5-1 at St. Mary's Stadium on Wednesday, December 4, to close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League to seven points.

Madueke, who was in the starting lineup for the game, found the back of the net for the Blues.

Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho, and Axel Disasi grabbed the remaining four goals for Maresca's side.

Speaking in a post-match press conference, the former Leicester City manager criticized Madueke for consistently dropping his level whenever he hits top form and for his poor training ethics.

“With Noni, I have a personal relationship, in terms of he can do much more.

“In the moment that he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit.

“The reason he was not playing [against Aston Villa] is because I don’t like the way he trained.

“He has to understand that he has to train every day well, he has to be ambitious.”