Enzo Maresca echoed former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag's controversial words about Jadon Sancho following Chelsea's win over FC Heidenheim in the Europa Conference League.
Sancho returned to Chelsea's starting line-up for the first time in nine games on Thursday night and produced two assists as the Blues beat the German outfit 2-0 at the Voith-Arena.
The win was Chelsea's fourth in four games in the Conference League and saw them maintain their lead at the top of the competition's new-look league phase.
Speaking about Sancho, who joined Chelsea on-loan from United in the summer, after the game, Maresca said: "Jadon is very important to us. He is very important. He has to be fit, mentally and physically; he is going to help us a lot."
"Unfortunately, we did not use him in the last few games but he is showing now how important he is to us," he added.
In December 2022, Ten Hag made similar comments about Sancho while the winger was, on the Dutchman's advice, training away from United's first-team in the Netherlands.
When asked about Sancho's absence from a winter training camp in Spain, Ten Hag, who was fired by United last month, said: “He wasn't fit enough to be there. It's a combination of physically and mentally.”
It was later revealed that United and Ten Hag hadn't been cleared by Sancho to go public with his mental health difficulties, and that the club feared the England international could sue them over the incident.
Maresca on Heidenheim: "It was tough"
Chelsea had to wait until the 51st minute to take the lead against Heidenheim, when Sancho teed up Christopher Nkunku for his 11th goal of the season.
Mykhailo Mudryk then added the Blues' second with four minutes left on the clock, with Sancho again providing the assist.
Heidenheim, who are currently 15th in the Bundesliga, had more shots on target than Chelsea, and also had two goals disallowed for offside.
Maresca admitted after the final whistle: "It was tough, very tough."
"Against a Bundesliga team away on a small pitch it is always going to be complicated, but overall I think we did quite well with that," he explained. "We could have scored more goals but we also conceded some chances. Overall, I think we deserved to win the game and I'm very happy for the players."
On the performances of Nkunku and goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, the Italian coach said: "Both did very well. They did fantastic."
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