Maresca 'in love' with Acheampong as Chelsea academy stars take centre stage

A dominant away win in the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final put Chelsea in complete control of the tie.

This was despite coach Maresca again shuffling his pack for European action, turning to teenagers Acheampong and Tyrique George.

While George grabbed his first Chelsea goal, opening the scoring before a Noni Madueke brace, it was 18-year-old defender Acheampong who caught Maresca's eye.

"The one I fall in love with tonight is Josh Acheampong," Maresca said. "He can be a fantastic player for this club, a good player can play in different positions, and he showed that.

"Since we started, I'm in love with him, but tonight he showed he can be a very good player for this club.

"He can be good in different positions. The best thing for Josh is that he's open – he wants to learn: 'Full-back? No problem, what do I have to do?'”

1st leg done pic.twitter.com/xXn4wBQ1Yi

— Josh Acheampong (@_JoshAcheampong) April 10, 2025

On 19-year old George, who tapped home a simple rebound after 49 minutes, Maresca said: "[I am] happy first of all for the Chelsea academy because he is one of our boys.

"He was quite good in the first half, taking responsibility. He was probably better in the middle."

Maresca managed to strike a balance in his line-up, having been criticised for also naming a weakened XI in last weekend's goalless draw against Brentford.

"We planned to try and have our best players for this game and give chances to the rest of the players to recover energy," Maresca said.

"Overall, a professional performance, a good result."

While Chelsea are closing on a semi-final against either Djurgarden or Rapid Wien in the Conference League, Sunday's stalemate could yet prove costly in their bid to qualify for next season's Champions League.

With five places now qualifying for UEFA's elite competition, Chelsea sit fourth, level on points with fifth-placed Newcastle United having played a game more.