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🗣️ @Matt_Law_DT: “If Enzo Maresca’s complaint was at the Owners/Sporting Directors then I’m afraid he’s fighting a losing battle.”

BREAKING: Enzo Maresca has an internal issue at Chelsea which prompted his post-match comments about not feeling supported. It has been made clear to Enzo Maresca that Chelsea's youth-led model WILL NOT dramatically change because it is backed by the hierarchy and starting to bear fruits. Co-owner Behdad Eghbali along with sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley believe the project is starting to pay off. And Chelsea have doubled down on their investment in youth by adding highly-rated recruitment expert Dave Fallows to work across football development. (@JacobsBen)

🟡Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed Cole Palmer is still feeling pain in his groin and will not be able to play three games a week for the time being. (@SJohnsonSport) What exactly has his long break achieved? Without surgery, it won't get any better! 🤬Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca on recent form: “It's football - it's completely normal. We are always looking for problems and things we need to solve. The Leeds game was 8/9 days ago, we are not going to change our season because we didn't get the points we expect. I'm completely relaxed. It's football, that's the reason why we drop points.” (@BobbyVincentFL) 🚨 Those who work with Enzo Maresca describe him as a "balanced" personality at Cobham. He is not a man who loudly berates others or lets defeats get him down too much. (@Matt_Law_DT) What kind of attitude is that, man!!! 🔴Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca on Josh Acheampong: “The good thing about Josh, the moment we give him a chance, he is always doing well. He is going to be a big player for this club, but he just needs to be patience and wait for the right moment. In this moment, with Trev and Wes, we have 4, 5, 6 games with clean sheets, so sometimes you are also looking for stability. This is the reason why but when you know you have a player that when you need him is always ready to perform, it's important.”

🔵Chelsea and Manchester City have both joined the hunt for Bayern Munich centre-back, Dayot Upamecano. (@GraemeBailey)

Internally, Chelsea realised they were facing a challenging run of fixtures with away trips to Leeds, Bournemouth and Atalanta, and it will hardly get easier with the visit of Everton, who have won more duels than anyone else in the Premier League this season. (@kierangill_DM) 😵🫤

🔵Chelsea are emerging as the frontrunners in the race for AZ Alkmaar’s highly-rated midfielder Kees Smit, who is also on Newcastle’s radar. He's rated at £25m. (@MsiDouglas)

Anselmino is off injured in the 76th minute, it was his second start of the week today. Anselmino seems to be Lavia center back!!!!!!🤬

🗯More Kids News:💣 FC Chelsea have taken a new step in the pursuit of 17-year-old Grêmio defender Luis Eduardo. Chelsea signals official offer for Luís Eduardo, star defender in the U-17 World Cup, with values potentially exceeding €10 million with bonuses in the contract. (@fabioHDG) 👀Enzo Fernandez has changed his agency. He has joined the agency “The Elegant Game”, managed by Javier Pastore and Matías Toranzo. (@edu17burgos)

BlueCo could face a battle to keep Strasbourg coach Liam Rosenior! He is reportedly on the radar of Fulham and other Premier League clubs. (@alex_crook)

Milan will try to reach an agreement with Chelsea target Mike Maignan over his contract renewal in the coming weeks. (@DiMarzio)

🔵BlueCo apparently close to signing David Mimbang (17) from EFBC! 🇨🇲 More than just securing a top midfield talent for the future, this would also be a brilliant step for RC Strassbourg in strengthening their relationship with one of the best academies in Cameroon, ahead of Lille who signed Carlos Baleba from them in 2022. (@alfredfrank) After Muhammad Zongo (16), the next African talent lands at BlueCo in Strasbourg, with more to follow! BlueCo is currently buying up half of Africa.

Atalanta’s Charles De Ketelaere says they knew Chelsea would drop off in the 2nd half: “We knew intensity wise, they will drop in the 2nd half. We know they get a lot of goals against them in the 2nd half.”

Enzo Maresca: "First half we were winning, we were good and controlling the game. "After we conceded the first goal, we lost control a little bit of the game. "We are playing every two days, two days, two days. For a moment we looked like we struggled a bit. Now it's about trying to win the next game. "We were aggressive like them. We had different chances to make it 2-0 and when we conceded 1-1 the dynamic of the game changed a little bit." (@tntsports)

Chelsea’s remaining fixtures in December 🔹 Everton (H) 🔹 Cardiff City (A) 🔹 Newcastle (A) 🔹 Aston Villa (H) 🔹 Bournemouth (H) 😪☢️☢️🔥

Enzo Maresca on making 5 changes: "I think tonight's first XI, we had eight or nine players that played against Tottenham, Barcelona, Wolves, Arsenal. If you see the five changes we did compared to Bournemouth, it's different." (@BobbyVincentFL)

Enzo Maresca on how the game slipped away: "After the goal we conceded, we lost control. Second-half, we had two good chances to score the second one. When we conceded the 1-1, we lost some concentration. We can avoid both of the goals we conceded. They're easy goals." (@BobbyVincentFL)

Maresca won a pre season tournament at the end of a gruelling season, and people act like he’s Guardiola or prime Mourinho°° He won Conference League in which our budget was 20 times that of our opponents. 1.5 years here. Less points than last season and the football is WORSE!!!! 🔴Simon Phillips has also repeatedly emphasized that, according to the best sources, R. James Enzo and Palmer are not fans of Maresca at all and are not happy with where they are being deployed.

Appalling but not surprising. The football is awful, results even worse and Maresca's coaching is unacceptably bad. Every in-game adjustment hurts instead of helps us. He coaches scared. Lose to Everton and he deserves the sack.

Another awful performance, having 7 defensive players on the pitch when we can’t break them down? Why not just bring on Estevao and Santos!!!! 🤢🤬

Tosin😍😍😍

Gusto in midfield over Andrey…😣😣

Gusto and Reece both playing in midfield now. Shambolic stuff. How is a CL club down to two RBs as midfield options?!

🔴Nottingham Forest defender Murillo is open to a change of scene next summer as he continues to attract interest from Europe’s top clubs. Chelsea have long admired the 23-year-old, while Real Madrid have kept a close eye on him, too. (@TomCollomosse)

🔵Chelsea are hopeful that Liam Delap will be out for no longer than four weeks after scans confirmed that the striker had not suffered a fracture or dislocation to his shoulder. (@Matt_Law_DT) Kobbie Mainoo to Chelsea in January feels like the most obvious transfer of all-time!!!

🔴BREAKING: Chelsea's FA disciplinary hearing on 74 charges including secret payments to agents during Abramovich era due to conclude this week. Chelsea are hopeful of receiving only a fine because they self-reported the payments after discovering them. However, the commission could impose tougher penalties, including a transfer ban or points deduction. [The Times]