Fernandez played a central role in our midweek victory at Stamford Bridge, as he captained the side from an unfamiliar position on the left side of our attack.

First the Argentinian opened the scoring with a stunning strike into the bottom corner from long range, then his deft touch teed up Andrey Santos to get our second goal, en route to a 2-1 victory over our capital rivals.

‘I thought Enzo was exceptional. I thought his goal was brilliant, his assist as well, he’s obviously made a massive impact,’ said McFarlane, although he was keen to share the credit throughout the team.

‘But I don't think there was anyone you could name on the night, on our team, who didn't give absolutely everything to get the win. So I wouldn't want to single out one player.

‘I thought the whole team, the subs who came off the bench and gave energy when we needed it. I thought it was a real team performance.’

Our interim head coach also discussed his decision to introduce 18-year-old striker Mheuka off the bench late in the game, trusting the teenager to make his first Premier League appearance of the season in such a high-pressure match.

Mheuka had already featured for the senior team during our FA Cup and League Cup campaigns this season, after making one Premier League appearance and four Conference League outings during the 2024/25 campaign.

The striker is a player McFarlane knows well from his time leading our Under-21s, where the England Under-19 international was his captain.

Mheuka enjoyed a prolific season in front of goal, scoring 18 times and providing one assist in 19 Premier League 2 appearances. His contributions were crucial as our Under-21s finished top of the table, recording 14 victories from 20 matches and scoring 52 goals on their way to lifting the Premier League 2 league trophy.

‘I think Shimi has had a great season,’ McFarlane added. ‘I've worked with him closely, so I know him really well. He's played a few times for the first team over the last two years. He's definitely more than capable to play senior football.

‘We've also got really good centre-forwards in the first team in Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Marc Guiu as well, so there's competition for places. We've got a few injuries, so it gave Shim the opportunity.

‘He probably would've expected it a bit earlier, I imagine, in his development. But we all know Shim's potential at the club and we're really excited about how that's going to unfold in the next couple of years.’