4 hours ago
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Chelsea caput manager Enzo Maresca said helium volition let Pedro Neto to marque his ain determination connected whether to play successful the club's Club World Cup quarterfinal against Palmeiras.
The Chelsea winger was a adjacent person of Diogo Jota, and following the tragic passing of the Liverpool forward and his member Andre Silva connected Thursday, Maresca has said the nine volition enactment Neto successful his clip of mourning.
Neto played with Jota astatine Wolverhampton Wanderers and connected the planetary country for Portugal. The 25-year-old was absent from Chelsea’s pre-match grooming league successful Miami up of the clash against Palmeiras. The Blues, similar Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, began the league with a minute’s silence successful grant of Jota.
Neto has been fixed an indefinite permission of absence, and it remains unclear whether helium is disposable for the quarterfinal, which kicks disconnected astatine 21:00 ET (18:00 PT and 02:00 BST connected Friday greeting successful the UK).
Maresca began his pre-match property league by paying tribute to Jota and his brother, Andre. “Yeah, it's a precise bittersweet day. I conflict to find words due to the fact that it's precise difficult,” helium said.
“You know, the feeling that you are, that you consciousness a small spot helpless successful this benignant of situation. The lone happening I tin say, each my emotion to his family, the radical that astatine this moment, it's a large calamity for them.
“And past successful presumption of Pedro, he's precise sad, astir apt much than sad, but we are besides adjacent to Pedro to enactment him successful this moment.”
Asked whether Neto volition play against Palmerias, Maresca responded: “It's wholly Pedro's decision. I had a chat this greeting with Pedro. We enactment him.
“Any determination helium volition instrumentality is the close one, and we are going to enactment him successful immoderate case. So it doesn't substance if we'll beryllium successful the transportation oregon not. Tomorrow, we'll spot however helium is feeling. But successful immoderate case, we're going to enactment him."
Marc Cucurella was besides contiguous astatine the property league and said: “It's a atrocious moment. We nonstop each our emotion to the family, the wife, the kids, and I bash it from me, the full Chelsea squad, and football.
"Football is not important astatine times similar this. The astir important happening is that we amusement respect and each our love.
"I saw it arsenic soon arsenic I woke up.
"It was a hard infinitesimal due to the fact that these things tin hap to each of america successful immoderate infinitesimal and past you commencement to deliberation if you don’t consciousness good, oregon you don’t springiness 100 percent, oregon consciousness s--- erstwhile these things happen, it’s important to beryllium blessed and unrecorded beingness each day."
English (US) ·