3 things Enzo Maresca needs to fix at Chelsea
A new era has begun at Chelsea as Enzo Maresca took over the managerial reins some weeks ago following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino from the club by mutual consent. Despite the fact that Pochettino hit a purple patch in the second half of the 2023–24 season, it wasn’t enough for him to salvage his position as Chelsea’s head coach.
Since a Todd Boehly-led consortium took over the ownership of Chelsea, they have parted ways with three permanent coaches, including Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, while trying two interim coaches (Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard) before the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino.
In light of this, we take a look at some of the things that Chelsea’s new head coach, Enzo Maresca, should fix at the West London club in order to hit the ground running and ultimately not end up like his predecessor.
Gradually implement his style but play according to the ability of his players
As a former protégé of Pep Guardiola, it is unsurprising to see that Maresca's football philosophy is possession-based, expressive, and positional, à la his former boss. This is much different from the back-and-forth transitional attacking play that Mauricio Pochettino employed during his tenure, and that drastic change could take some of the players time to adapt.
Previously, the view was that Enzo Maresca needed to quickly establish his system by identifying suitable players, finalizing his starting lineup and bench, and asserting his authority from the outset. But that opinion changed after watching their second preseason game against Celtic, in which they were defeated in a 4-1 drubbing.
Enzo Maresca needs to calm down with his tactics because it looks like he is trying to force the defenders to play a style they aren’t very comfortable with. In the first half against Celtic, they employed a very uncomfortable high-line approach. In that match, they look at sixes and sevens and simply don’t know how to back, when to press, and when to sit.
And every single time that Celtic played the ball in behind, the defenders didn’t seem to have the legs to track back and run back, most especially Benoit Badiashile. He looked so heavy on the ground and didn’t seem to be comfortable running.
One of the reasons Chelsea were so poor last season was Pochettino’s abandonment of the successful 3-2-5 system he used in the preseason as well as the disregard for players he has been using to great effect during that time, like Ian Masten and Andrey Santos. He reverted to another system; the players don’t have any idea how to play, and it took a long time to finally see some cohesion in the team.
All that momentum he built up in the Premier League Summer Series was thrown out of the window. And Chelsea’s poor start to the season, where they were unable to get above the 10th position until match week 20, prevented them from ever realistically challenging for the Top 4 or the EPL title.
Enzo Maresca can’t afford to make the same mistakes. The whole point of the pre-season is to prepare the players for the upcoming season and get them regimented and drilled for what is required of them.
The 2024/25 Premier League fixtures have been announced, and despite playing Manchester City in their opening fixture, the following matches should be winnable games on paper. A win against Manchester City on the opening day could be the springboard that the club needs to finish high.
Strengthen Chelsea’s defense
Chelsea’s game against Celtic in their preseason tour exposed their defensive frailties even further. After their struggling draw against Wrexham in their first preseason game, it was expected that they would redeem themselves against Celtic.
Their starting lineup against Brendan Rodgers' Celtic was practically their first team, especially their defensive unit. Reece James, Lewis Colwill, Wesley Fofana, and Benoit Badiashile were all in the starting XI.
A fanatic could say that they had neither Moises Caicedo nor Enzo Fernandez in the starting lineup, but common, this is Celtic and not a European heavyweight like Real Madrid, Manchester City, and the like. As such, it is expected that they give very good account of themselves defensively. Every time Celtic took the ball into Chelsea’s half, it always looked as though they were going to score.
There’s no arguing the fact that despite the exciting attacking football that Chelsea played at times last season, their defense was absolutely shambolic, costing them not only points in the EPL table but Champions League qualification, the EFL Cup, and the subsequent funds from earning those achievements.
Chelsea looked lost in set-pieces as they were unable to defend high balls into the box, had zero coordination at times, and generally conceded far too many goals to be top contenders.
This was due to having bad defenders, but due to the lack of organization at the back, the lack of a consistent gameplan, and the lack of a consistent back four (obviously due to the injury crisis).
If Enzo Maresca wants the team to progress under him, he needs to correct these issues—stop conceding so many chances but do so in a balanced manner, not sacrificing their offensive capabilities at the same time.
Signings like Tosin Adarabioyo and also the changes to the coaching staff would help achieve this. Not only have Chelsea brought in Bernardo Cueva from Brentford (an excellent set-piece coach and one of the reasons Brentford were so successful from theirs), but new backroom staff members like Michele De Bernardin (the new goalkeeping coach) and assistant manager.
Enzo Maresca needs to work on Chelsea’s defense as soon as possible, as the 2024–25 season is fast approaching. If his record at Leicester City is anything to go by, he should be able to do this pretty comfortably.
The Foxes only conceded 41 goals in a 46-game season, or 0.89 goals per match. In contrast to Chelsea's 2023–24 EPL campaign, they conceded 63 goals in a 38-game season to be the 9th worst team in the league defensively. This is an issue that Enzo Maresca needs to fix quickly.
Win Silverware in the 2024/25 season
It is of utmost importance that Enzo Maresca doesn’t just settle for a decent finish in the 2024–25 campaign. While it would be a great achievement to earn a Champions League spot at the end of the season, Chelsea is a title-winning team, and the Italian manager must make sure that he returns them to glory days.
The last time they won a trophy was in 2022, which was their first ever Club World Cup. They’d be competing in the EPL, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, UEFA Conference League, and Club World Cup in the upcoming season.
The current Chelsea squad has the quality they need to get into the finals. This was evidenced last season, as they ended runner-up in the Carabao Cup and semi-finalists in the FA Cup. From the look of things, they are huge favorites to win the UEFA Conference League, and winning it will extend the gap between them and other London clubs further.
Apart from that, it will make them the only club to have won the Champions League, Europa League, and UEFA Conference League. The Chelsea faithful can’t afford to go trophyless for a third consecutive season. There is a need to start seeing the fruits of Enzo Maresca’s tactical ability as soon as possible. With this, the 44-year-old can endear himself to the Chelsea faithful.