LONDON – Enzo Maresca has been running a tightrope at Chelsea, but the club’s new head coach was spared an ordeal at the hands of Manchester City as his side began their new Premier League campaign. Losing 2-0 against the champions was an occupational hazard, but from then on things got tougher for Maresca.
Any team can be replaced by Pep Guardiola’s City. They are chasing a fifth consecutive title this season and goals from Erling Haaland – his 91st in 100 games for the club – and Mateo Kovacic at Stamford Bridge secured a predictable result on the opening weekend of 2024. – 25 seasons.
“We fought the champions today,” Maresca said. “We will go on and win the game. They (City) are the masters at this point.
“We had two or three chances. He is a master of keeping the ball. The performance is there and that is the most important thing. Every day, this team is improving.”
Progress perhaps, but an acceptable defeat is not at Chelsea. In England, only City have won more major trophies than Chelsea over the past decade, so high standards and expectations remain unmet, despite two years of upheaval at the club since the BlueCo consortium took over as owners in May 2022.
But even though it’s day one of the new season, there is still anger in Chelsea’s fanbase about the goings-on at the club this summer.
Departing from former coach Mauricio Pochettino, the recruitment of Maresca – a coach with no Premier League experience – from Leicester City, the constant flow of players in and out of the revolving door at the club with 10 signings and 20 transfers. and finally, the treatment of home-grown players such as Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah, who are both made to train away from the first-team when efforts are made to offload them.
The best way to get rid of negativity at any football club is by winning games and Maresca has now taken seven – six games and the match against City – and registered only one win, so all the background noise that helps attract attention. The supporter’s riot only got louder.
Just moments after Haaland put City ahead in the 18th minute, Chelsea fans chanted Gallagher’s name — the England midfielder was not in the match-day squad as talks continue over a move to Atlético Madrid — while there were also loud groans. and complaints about slow build-up play by the home side as Chelsea tried to get back into the game.
Maresca last week said the owners had told him he was under no pressure to finish in the top four this season, saying he was ready to give him time and patience as he tried to introduce a more deliberate ownership-based approach at the club. .
However, the owners have ignored the demands of supporters who have witnessed repeated success over the past two decades under coaches such as Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel to play a more direct and fast-paced game. So if the team isn’t winning and the manager is demanding a style of play that the supporters don’t want, there will be trouble ahead, regardless of what the owners say or not to the new coach.
So, no team should be judged against City. It’s how Maresca’s side shape up in their next two league games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace that will tell whether the new manager has a plan the players are prepared to buy into or if real turmoil lies ahead.
Maresca started without new players from the club, but Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku, registered great before that time at the club has been hampered by long-term injuries, as part of the starting XI. Fofana and Lavia shine brighter than Nkunku, but no one doubts their quality.
City are simply too strong in all departments, despite having Phil Foden, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Jack Grealish on the bench and midfielder Rodri not even in the squad due to full rest after helping Spain to Euro 2024 success in July.
Wingers Jérémy Doku and Savinho dominated against direct opposition and Kovacic and Kevin De Bruyne won the midfield battle, so although Chelsea had moments when they threatened City’s goal, Guardiola’s side were always superior to the home side.
It’s possible that the state of flux at Chelsea won’t go away until the transfer window closes at the end of this month and Maresca has a strong sense of the players he can work with. It’s clear that Gallagher and Chalobah have no future at the club and that seems to apply to Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling, who have both been left out of the matchday squad.
Maresca said after the match that some players “have to leave” but with so many to work with – more than 40 first team players at this point – there is no guarantee that the right players will stay and the right ones will leave.
Chelsea need composure and patience and Maresca definitely needs both. But the fans were not happy with what they saw, so prepare for another stormy cloud at Stamford Bridge next week.
