The head coach made 10 changes to his team to face Heidenheim from the side which won 2-1 at Leicester City in the Premier League five days earlier, Benoit Badiashile being the only player to start both matches.
‘Filip and Christo did very well, but I think all of the players were fantastic. Jadon [Sancho] played a very good game, so did Axel [Disasi], Benoit, I think Cesare [Casadei] did well too. Misha is another one. I think it’s difficult to find a player who didn’t play well.
‘But that is what we need. We need all of them taking the chance when we can give them the chance, so it’s important that they are ready when they get that chance.
‘Now we have a game on Sunday and then we have a game on Wednesday. We have nine games in December, it’s more or less a game every two or three days. They are going to get more chances, so that is what we need, for them to be ready.
‘I know that they all want to play more, but we have 25 good players and they all deserve to play. They are working fantastic and we are going to share minutes in the next games, because we have so many games and it is the normal thing to do.’
The performance of one player in particular pleased Maresca, as Sancho provided the cross which led to Nkunku’s opener and then teed up Mudryk for our second.
‘It’s very important he was back,’ continued the Italian. ‘I have said since we started that Jadon is very important for us. He has to be fit mentally and physically, because he is going to help us a lot.
‘Unfortunately we couldn’t use him for a few games, but last night he showed again how important he is for us.
‘He is what we need, especially against a team that defends with a low block. We need that quality in the last third, the last pass and he can shoot, sometimes he will shoot more than he did against Heidenheim. But I think he is going to help us a lot.’
