Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has explained his reason for taking off star player Cole Palmer in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Chelsea suffered their first Premier League defeat of the campaign, losing 2-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was shown a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity, and manager Enzo Maresca admitted the early incident completely derailed his side's game plan.

Maresca on Chelsea's loss to Man Utd, Cole Palmer fitness

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Maresca shared his thoughts on the game.

"For me personally, it is quite easy in terms of after three to four minutes, it was rough for the way the red card became difficult not only for Chelsea, but it became difficult for any club.

"The game changed after the red card, all the planning and everything, it doesn't exist anymore."

In the immediate aftermath of the red card, Maresca responded with a double change, taking off wingers Estevão Willian and Pedro Neto.

Moments later, star player Cole Palmer was also substituted.

Speaking about his decision to take off Palmer, Maresca revealed the player was not fully fit. "Cole, he tried this morning, he had a test this morning to play this game, he was not 100% fit, he made a fantastic effort to play this game, but he was not 100%," Maresca said.

The manager praised Palmer's determination to be on the pitch.

"He did a test this morning, he wanted to play this game for the team, to be close, so the effort has been huge from him, but then after 20 minutes he started to feel something, so we decided to change him."