Where were Cole Palmer & Nicolas Jackson? Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca responds to scrutiny over controversial team selection after dismal Brentford draw

The attacking midfielder and the striker came off the bench in the second half of the Premier League clash on Sunday as the Blues failed to capitalise on their rivals dropping points in the race for a top-four finish.

Maresca has denied he rested the pair with an eye on their Conference League quarter-final against Legia Warsaw on Thursday, insisting that it was part of his tactical plan.

He told reporters: "Probably from outside, you receive in the wrong way the reason why Cole and Nico didn't play. They didn't play, not because we want to rest them for Thursday. They didn't play because there was a game plan, because Brentford had 24 hours [of rest] more than us, because some of the players were tired. So we planned the game to start in one way, and then to finish with Cole, with Nico, with Pedro [Neto], with four or five changes. And it nearly worked, because we deserved to win, especially in the last half an hour, but it was all planned. But we didn't decide to leave them out for [Thursday].

"No, no, no. It was because we planned the game in that way, because they needed it."

The Blues are in Poland to take on Legia in the first leg of the quarter-final tie. After that, they will host Ipswich at Stamford Bridge in the league.