Enzo Maresca must enhance outcomes at Chelsea rapidly if he desires to maintain his job after a run of 1 win in seven Premier League video games.
Two extra dispiriting and lacklustre performances at Stamford Bridge in opposition to Aston Villa and Bournemouth over the vacation interval have elevated the stress on the Italian.
Maresca’s fortunes had been sky excessive after Chelsea beat Barcelona 3-0 in November and sat three factors off the highest of the desk however a sequence of self-inflicted wounds, some questionable choices and damaging defeats by Leeds, Atalanta and Villa have put him underneath extra stress than ever.
He lifted the lid on his uneasy relationship along with his employers at Stamford Bridge earlier in December along with his inflammatory feedback after his facet beat Everton, saying that the times main as much as the sport had been “the worst 48 hours” of his time on the membership and that “many people” weren’t supporting him or the staff.
As everybody is aware of, soccer is a outcomes enterprise. Maresca is ending 2025 because the Chelsea head coach, however he’s unlikely to make it to the tip of January except outcomes enhance rapidly.
That is the second successive season Chelsea have misplaced their manner over the winter months underneath Maresca. Final season they received solely two league video games between mid-December and the ultimate week of February.
This 12 months, a January which is prone to be defining for Maresca contains 9 video games throughout 4 competitions.
Chelsea gamers have been given two days off after Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. They may return to coaching on Friday to arrange for Sunday’s sport at Manchester Metropolis, dwell on Sky Sports activities.
Chelsea had been a degree forward of Metropolis within the Premier League little greater than 5 weeks in the past however they may journey to Manchester having fallen 10 factors behind Pep Guardiola’s facet, and have additionally dropped 15 factors from profitable positions this season.
Sunday 4th January 5:00pm
Kick off 5:30pm
Are there issues behind the scenes at Chelsea?
Sky Sports activities Information chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol:
“There appears to be something wrong at Chelsea. Back in November, they were flying high after beating Barcelona in the Champions League, but since then they have won just two of nine games.
“There was a self-inflicting wound with the feedback made after Chelsea beat Everton the place he mentioned the times main as much as the sport had been “the worst 48 hours” of his time on the membership and that “many people” weren’t supporting him. He did not must make these feedback however that lifted the lid on there being issues behind the scenes not fairly proper at Chelsea.
“When you are at Chelsea you are not the manager, you are the head coach and you have to fit into the structure that has been put in place at the club. There are sporting directors that Maresca has to work closely with and there has to be a team behind the team.
“The question is: Is that team united or are there problems behind the scenes in that team? Can those problems be sorted?
“The opposite query I might ask is whether or not these issues are affecting performances and outcomes?
“With the quality of players Chelsea have in their squad and with the performances we have seen against Barcelona and against Arsenal, they have a very good squad, but for whatever reason, now, Maresca is not getting the best out of those players.
“You may really feel that at Stamford Bridge. You may really feel the disconnect between the staff and the followers and it must be circled in a short time.”
Evaluation: Maresca and Chelsea haven’t taken probability to kick on
Sky Sports activities’ Ron Walker:
“At the end of last season it felt as though there was a chance to build something, as Enzo Maresca led a young Chelsea squad back to the Champions League, then the Conference League and Club World Cup titles.
“How a lot of that progress has been made six months on? Judging by the boos throughout and after the Blues’ newest poor end result in opposition to Bournemouth, not a fantastic deal.
“Looking at the Premier League table, this seems a harsh assessment, with Chelsea well in the mix for a Champions League spot.
“However very like when Frank Lampard grew to become the ultimate managerial casualty of the Roman Abramovich period, it’s the route of journey which is the issue. On the halfway level of 2025/26 they’re 5 factors worse off than at this level final 12 months and drifting.
“Maresca finds himself held responsible for most, though not all of the underlying issues. Over-rotation has been a long-term bugbear – Chelsea have made 55 line-up changes this season, with rock-bottom Wolves the only other side with more than 50.
“Not all of that is due to his own faults. The squad remains woefully short of strength in depth in certain areas, and short of experience almost throughout – the starting line-up against Bournemouth was the youngest named in any Premier League match this season.
“Maresca was rightly lauded for his ways to win the Membership World Cup in the summertime, however little progress has been made on that entrance extra broadly. He has referred to himself as a big-game supervisor – and victories in opposition to Liverpool and Barcelona at Stamford Bridge this season, plus a creditable 10-man draw with Arsenal, are honest testomony.
“But this run of seven points from 21 has included a defeat to Leeds and four points dropped against a Bournemouth side winless in nine. It would likely have also counted a loss at Newcastle had Trevoh Chalobah been penalised for what appeared a blatant penalty.
“There have been moments the place a connection seemed to be constructing between Maresca and the fanbase. The 2 trophies final season and the jubilant scenes after the win at Tottenham earlier this season spring to thoughts.
“But prickly comments in public have not helped create the us-against-the-world mindset these fans have felt under Jose Mourinho, Thomas Tuchel and even Frank Lampard in the last two decades.
“Finally, outcomes alone will probably be what can flip this round for Maresca. That’s the chilly arduous foreign money which buys coaches time at Chelsea.”
Chelsea’s January fixtures as essential month looms for Maresca…
Can Enzo Maresca enhance Chelsea‘s leads to January?
The Blues have some robust fixtures developing…
- Sunday January 4: Man Metropolis (A) – Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm (dwell on Sky Sports activities)
- Wednesday January 7: Fulham (A) – Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm (dwell on Sky Sports activities)
- Saturday January 10: Charlton (A) – FA Cup, kick-off 8pm (dwell on Sky Sports activities)
- Wednesday January 14: Arsenal (H) – Carabao Cup, kick-off 8pm (dwell on Sky Sports activities)
- Saturday January 17: Brentford (H) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm
- Wednesday January 21: Pafos (H) – Champions League, kick-off 8pm
- Sunday January 25: Crystal Palace (A) – Premier League, kick-off 2pm (dwell on Sky Sports activities)
- Wednesday January 28: Napoli (A) – Champions League, kick-off 8pm
- Saturday January 31: West Ham (H) – Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm (dwell on Sky Sports activities)
