Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has defended his rotation policy ahead of the team’s trip to Bournemouth, citing the need to protect players who cannot play every three days.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has come under fire for his team’s 3-1 loss to Leeds United, but he remains steadfast in his decision to rotate players.

Maresca made five changes to the starting lineup that held leaders Arsenal to a 1-1 draw last weekend, and he believes this was necessary to protect his players.

“We have four or five players we need to protect and manage,” Maresca said. “I would like to play all the games with Reece James, Pedro Neto, Moises Caicedo, even Romeo Lavia, but it is not possible, so we try and find a different solution.”

“Most of the rotation we do is because the other player cannot play,” he said. “We have players unable to play every three days.”

Moises Caicedo, who has played 50 out of 51 league games under Maresca, will be out for two more matches as he serves a three-game ban for his red card. Lavia, Levi Colwill, and Dario Essugo are out with injuries, further justifying Maresca’s decision to rotate players.

Maresca is focused on moving forward and learning from the team’s mistakes against Leeds. “I watched the game back, and we did many things bad,” he said. “We paid the bill because Leeds away can be complicated. There are things we need to avoid in the future.”

The Bournemouth game is expected to be a tough one, and Maresca is preparing his team for a similar level of intensity as they faced at Leeds. “Leeds were very intense and were better than us in all aspects,” he said. “Hopefully, we can learn from that and be better tomorrow.”