The good news for Enzo Maresca is that refusing to accept Chelsea were in the title race earlier this season looks impressively prescient. The bad news, though, is that foreseeing a dip is not the same as being able to stop it. The mood shifts in that situation. What is Maresca made of? Chelsea’s supporters are starting to wonder. Accusations of one-dimensional tactics are growing, and it was naive of Maresca to respond to Chelsea losing to Brighton in the FA Cup last weekend by suggesting it could help them focus on their Premier League and Conference League campaigns.
Communication has to be better after three wins in 10 games. Perhaps there was logic to Maresca’s comments – fewer distractions could aid Chelsea’s league form – but making them immediately after going out of a winnable competition felt unwise. Fans who had watched Chelsea fold against opponents reeling from a 7-0 defeat in their previous game were never going to react well to the their inexperienced head coach seeming relaxed about another shot at a trophy disappearing.
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The recent vibe is confusing. Performances have been underwhelming since Christmas and the winter transfer window is the subject of much debate. Maresca described coaching Chelsea during it as “a disaster” and will be even more on edge after learning that Nicolas Jackson is not expected to return from a hamstring problem until early April.
Jackson should have been taken off as soon as he felt a twinge midway through the first half of the unconvincing victory over West Ham this month. The striker was not substituted until the 50th minute and it is fair to wonder whether more damage was done. It is less bad luck, more bad decision-making. There has been a heavy reliance on Jackson during the past 18 months and his absence exposes holes in how Chelsea’s squad has been constructed. It is not ideal for the recruitment team that Marc Guiu, the willing but raw Spanish striker, also sustained a long-term injury after replacing Jackson against West Ham.
It was a calculated gamble not to bring in at least one attacker in the winter window. The Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk had been suspended for a positive drug test before Chelsea allowed João Félix to join Milan on loan. Now Maresca, whose side return to league action with another trip to Brighton on Friday night, goes into a crucial period without a conventional striker. Can he trust the talented but unsettled Christopher Nkunku? The France forward is better dropping deep and did not lead the line well during defeats at Ipswich and Brighton. Maresca could have no choice but to use Cole Palmer as a false 9.
Of course there is an argument that the picture would not look rosier if Chelsea, who remain fourth, had spent big on a player not guaranteed to improve the first team. There is no point in eating into the summer budget to pursue questionable short-term gain. Equally, though, Chelsea seem to be making life harder for themselves. The squad is smaller and maintaining the push for Champions League qualification will be more difficult without Jackson. He had gone eight games without a goal but stretches defences, presses well and links the play in a way that makes him vital to Maresca’s system.
That said, Chelsea can thrill when everything clicks. The setbacks are part of the learning process for this young team. There is no panic within the hierarchy. If they did not get ahead of themselves when Chelsea were riding high then there is no reason for the board to lose patience during a period of uncertainty.
Equally it is strange that Renato Veiga felt compelled to push for a loan to Juventus six months after moving to Stamford Bridge. The logic in loaning Trevoh Chalobah to Crystal Palace and then recalling the defender because of some mild injury difficulties was curious. Then there was Félix joining from Atlético Madrid, enabling the Spanish club to sign Conor Gallagher. Félix barely featured before leaving. Why sign him?
Maresca has insisted he was on board with the purchase of Félix. It is said this was no club signing. Maresca’s explanation is that Félix’s path was blocked by Palmer’s excellence. Palmer, though, did not magically appear out of thin air. Maresca’s reasoning merely puts his judgment in question. Why did he want Félix when he had Palmer? Why could he not come up with a workaround to get both in the team? Why could he not keep Félix happy?
There has been some muddled thinking. Moisés Caicedo is under increasing strain in midfield. Chelsea are never quite as controlled when Roméo Lavia is injured. It remains unclear why they signed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall last summer. The focus falls on recruitment. Pedro Neto has not hit his stride since joining from Wolves and Jadon Sancho’s confidence has waned.
As for Maresca, there have been some hesitant substitutions and questions over his ability to adapt. Have Chelsea hired a positional coach just at the moment when Pep Guardiola says his brand of football is making way for a more aggressive style? Chelsea are rigid at the moment. The full-backs often invert and rarely overlap, crowding the middle, and their wingers are isolated. Chelsea have to rediscover their early-season dynamism if this is not to be viewed as a repeat of the slump that threatened Leicester’s promotion hopes under Maresca last year.
Maresca needs a response against Brighton. The concern was that he gave Chelsea’s players an excuse to relax when he kept talking down their title chances in December. Words have an impact. José Mourinho’s view was that the game began with the press conference. Maresca cannot let the impression build that second best is acceptable at Chelsea. A manager making out that there is a silver lining in going out of the FA Cup is tripping himself up.
