Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall sends clear Chelsea message as Enzo Maresca celebration explained

Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall impressed against Gent on Thursday and the midfielder has opened up about his time in west London

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has revealed it was an "amazing feeling" to score his first Chelsea goal against Gent on Thursday evening.

The midfielder has endured a mixed start to his Blues career since joining from Leicester City in a deal worth £30million over the summer. A favourite under Enzo Maresca during their time together at the Foxes, Dewsbury-Hall has had to settle for a bit-part role in the early stages of his time at Stamford Bridge.

The 26-year-old impressed against Gent in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, though, as he scored Chelsea's fourth on the night in a 4-2 win. In the 70th minute Stefan Mitrovic’s tackle on Christopher Nkunku dropped at Dewsbury-Hall's feet and the midfielder expertly clipped it home with his instep for his first ever Chelsea goal.

Dewsbury-Hall was delighted with his performance and showed lots of emotion in his goal celebration. Speaking to TNT Sports, via BBC, after the match, the midfielder said: "I'm over the moon. I've been waiting for that moment since joining the club, to show everyone what my qualities are.

"Scoring the goal is an amazing feeling. I won't forget this night. I pride myself on working as hard as I can every day. I'd like to play more but it's my duty to make sure the manager has a decision to make. I feel fresh.

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"I've loved it [being at Chelsea]. You come through the door and expectations are through the roof. The standards are so high. It's so nice to play with players on your wavelength - top, top players.

"It's about learning and evolving. That's literally what I'm here for.

"He [Enzo Maresca] is a breath of fresh air. I was taken aback by him last year. Everything he did was passionate and motivated. You can see the lads are buying into it."

Maresca was equally as delighted for Dewsbury-Hall and punched the air in celebration after witnessing his first goal for Chelsea. "I know Kiernan very well from last year," Maresca told reporters after the game.

"I completely understand how difficult it is in this moment for Kiernan in terms of he was the main player at Leicester, you join Chelsea and you become one of the players. You are on the bench, you are not in the squad, you are not playing from the start, so you struggle a little bit at the beginning.

"But he needs to understand the reason he is here is because we want him. The celebration [from Maresca] is probably because I know he needs that. This is the reason why."

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