At the risk of reciting a nonsensical Craig David remake, Enzo Fernandez's run into the cold on Sunday was an exciting period worth telling given the grand result with Chelsea.
It started at 12.01am UK time on Wednesday at La Bombonera, home of Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires, when Fernandez started for Argentina in their World Cup qualifying win over Peru, completing the full 90 minutes with the final whistle blowing at 1.57am. .
After that 1-0 victory, which would probably be confirmed in the presence of his family, including his children Olivia and Benjamin, and friends, such as his representative Uriel Perez, followed the journey home to London, which covered almost 11,000 kilometers and 15 lasted an hour as night fell. in the capital after his landing.
At 1.30pm on Thursday, Fernandez was back in Cobham to train with Chelsea. He arrived with a cup of the South American favorite size and two pairs of Nike Phantoms, ready for work as Nicolas Jackson and Moises Caicedo were the first teammates he greeted. lovingly.
The same routine was repeated, except a little earlier on Friday when they then boarded the team bus en route to Leicester.
Chelsea arrived from their hotel at the King Power Stadium at 11.03am on Saturday with two buses, one carrying the squad, the other their coaching staff, including Enzo Maresca who waved to his former fans gathered at the entrance.
Fernandez was one of the first to leave as captain that day due to Reece James' hamstring injury. At 12.30pm the £106.8million man was lining up alongside Caicedo in midfield, his first Premier League start since early October.
It was not without reason that he was preferred to Romeo Lavia on this occasion, as Fernandez assisted Jackson for Chelsea's first, scored their second and ran 11.6 kilometers after a further 90 kilometers – the furthest distance any player has run in a match under Maresca this season has taken.
If the 23-year-old wants to start talking about Lavia, such a bet cannot hurt his chances. It also doesn't set the worst example when he wears the armband after a summer in which he caused controversy with the video of the Copa America celebration.
Three months later, after that shadow was cast over Chelsea's sunny tour of the United States, Fernandez's name was chanted by the supporters at full-time on Saturday, with the outbound contingent treated to a glimpse of why he cost Benfica so much money. in January 2023.
Leicester boss Steve Cooper spent most of his post-match press conferences complaining about the refereeing team led by Andy Madley, perhaps conveniently ignoring how his own player Wilfred Ndidi could have been shown a red card for an ugly challenge on Cole Palmer.
In fact, tactically speaking, Maresca had Cooper's number, despite Chelsea being forced into changes due to injuries and illness. Marc Cucurella practically played as a left winger instead of a left back, allowing Joao Felix to move into his favored central position, near Palmer.
Levi Colwill was deployed as a right-sided centre-back instead of a left-sided one for the first time this season, meaning that when Cucurella left the defense he was manning the three that shuffled across.
That was despite Colwill not feeling well and even collapsing full-time when staff rushed to his aid. The 21-year-old Englishman had Benoit Badiashile – impressive in his first Premier League start of the season – on his left and Wesley Fofana – a centre-back – filling in at right-back, with James and Malo Gusto both offside.
Noni Madueke helped defensively as he dropped deep enough for Chelsea to form a back five when Leicester had extended spells of possession, rare as they were.
And then there was Fernandez, selected because Lavia only recently returned from a hamstring problem.
His attacking instincts benefited Chelsea immensely and gave Maresca food for thought with German side Heidenheim in the Conference League on Thursday, followed by Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday. Another brutal week, as Craig David can tell.
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