Marc Cucurella responds with six-word Chelsea message after controversial Enzo Maresca decision

Marc Cucurella has issued a six-word message to the Chelsea fans following their goalless draw against Brentford. Enzo Maresca's side missed the chance to cement their place in the top four and close the gap on third place Nottingham Forest to two points after they were held at the Gtech Community Stadium.

In a game of few clear-cut opportunities, Chelsea's best opening fell to Reece James. Midway through the second half, the 25-year-old met an in-swinging corner but his powerful header was saved by Mark Flekken.

While Chelsea had more shots and more shots on target, Brentford had more big chances and should have gone ahead late on. Sepp van den Berg, free in acres of space inside the box, headed wide from six yards out.

Considering that Maresca made five changes - resting the likes of Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill - to face Brentford, it's not a bad point in the grand scheme and keeps Chelsea ticking in the top four race.

Cucurella was another one of those that dropped to the bench following Thursday's 1-0 win over Tottenham. The Spaniard came on for the final 13 minutes at Brentford, replacing James.

After the game, Cucurella took to social media to reflect on the game. In two separate Instagram stories, Cucurella said: "Thank you Blues," alongside a blue love heart emoji. "We go again!" with a flexed bicep emoji.

Meanwhile, Maresca seemed positive about his side's performance in his post-match press conference. The Italian looked upbeat and admitted the only thing Chelsea missed was the goal.

"I think overall we played a good game," Maresca said. "We prepared the game in the way the game was, in terms of starting one way and finishing the other way.

"We played Thursday night, demanding game, 24 hours less than them. Tricky stadium, tricky game. Sunny day, the pitch was dry. They tried to kill the tempo of the game, so for me it was a complete game.

"But overall, as I said, I think we did enough to win the game. We shot more than 20 times and probably the only thing we missed has been the goal, but overall happy with the performance."

Maresca faced a barrage of criticism from Chelsea supporters after decided to make several changes to his XI to face Brentford. However, the former Leicester boss defended his selection post-match.

Asked for an explanation on making so many changes, Maresca said: "No, the reason why is because we played first the night, so not all of them were 100%. So the idea was to start in one way and to finish in the other way.

"The plan nearly worked because, as you said, second half, the last half an hour, probably we created a little bit more. But I think overall the volume between first half and second half has been enough to win the game."

Chelsea have a hectic schedule for the next couple of weeks. They travel to Legia Warsaw in the Conference League quarter-final first-leg on Thursday before entertaining Ipswich next Sunday.

The Blues host Legia in the second-leg of their last eight Conference League tie the following Thursday before another Premier League game, this time a trip to Fulham on Sunday, April 20.

Join the football.london Chelsea WhatsApp community

Sign up to our Chelsea WhatsApp service and get all the latest breaking news and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Chelsea writers direct to your phone.

By signing up to this free service you will be the first to know the news from Stamford Bridge as it happens.

To join our Chelsea community, all you have to do is click this link to join and you're in!