Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has explained his rationale for selecting Brazilian attacker Kenedy at left-back against Norwich on Saturday. The 19 year old Brazilian has made his name as an attacking midfielder in his native Brazil, but the Chelsea boss sprung a big selection surprise in the home match against Norwich on Saturday, by opting for Kenedy at left-back.
The selection raised some eyebrows, but it appeared to work, with Chelsea winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from Diego Costa. Mourinho was quizzed about the choice post match and he explained to the Chelsea website, “He’s an attacking player, he was playing in a position where he wasn’t really a left-back.
“We were ready for them to come and play with four at the back, which they did, but we were also ready for them to play with five at the back which they did against Man City, so I wanted to have a player in that position who could adapt to both situations.
“If they played with five at the back I would have played with three at the back and used Kenedy as a left winger. When they came with four we knew what we had to do.” In an interview with ESPN Brazil after the match, Kenedy admitted that he had not expected to be deployed there by Mourinho. The 19 year old joined Chelsea from Fluminense in the summer.