ALEJANDRO GARNACHO was dropped to the bench for the Champions League clash between Chelsea and Atalanta following a bizarre press conference interaction.
The 21-year-old upset Italian fans on Monday by revealing that he had not watched Atalanta play in over a year.
He explained: “The last time I saw Atalanta was two years ago, in the Europa League final they won.”
Italian media subsequently accused him of “snobbery” while fans also criticised him.
So they would have been pleased to see Garnacho start on the bench for Chelsea in the Champions League meeting at the New Balance Arena.
Joao Pedro broke the deadlock and opened the scoring for the Blues in the 25th minute of the match.
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Former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca then levelled things up shortly after half-time.
And winger Charles De Ketelaere turned the game on its head with less than 10 minutes left to play to win the game 2-1 for Atalanta.
Garnacho insisted he still has no regrets about leaving Manchester United in the summer, claiming he took a “step forward” by moving to Chelsea.
He said: “Sometimes in life you have to change things to take a step forward or improve as a player.
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“I think it was the right moment and the right club, so it was an easy decision. I came here to play my football and show people the player I am.
“The most important thing is confidence. [Maresca] speaks with me every week and I think we are going to get better, me as a player and the team together, with time.
“We started the season three months ago so it’s building confidence between the manager and the player.”
The winger has scored twice in 14 appearances for Chelsea since joining from Man Utd in August.
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