Enzo Maresca Thread

[Duppy Conqueror 1,565]

7 hours ago, Vesper said:

Josh Acheampong or GTFO

Sadly I'm starting to think he'll end up playing more games for England than he will for us.

Maresca wants to keep him but don't want to give him any reason to want to stay.it's warped.

[Strike 7,541]

 

[Mário César 1,346]

So, It begins...

[Milan 17,980]

We all know Palmer does not like the tactics he is being instructed. His words after the Betis game were telling. So this could well and truly be Maresca or Palmer/any other quality player. Here’s hoping the board will choose wisely.

[Vesper 30,322]

Chelsea are suffering from a very specific defensive tactic by their opponents

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6656268/2025/09/24/Chelsea-tactics-enzo-maresca-problem/

The sluggish start, followed by a second-half spark. Long throw-ins, pedestrian approach play, even the red and white stripes. Chelsea fans had seen this film before.

An unconvincing 2-1 win over League One Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday presented some alarming similarities to a disappointing 2-2 draw with Brentford in the Premier League earlier this month, as Enzo Maresca once again tasked his young, second-string side to get the job done.

He could have few complaints after a poor opening 45 minutes, comprehensively out-shot and out-fought by Michael Skubala’s third-tier side. Maresca accepted as much in his post-match press conference, claiming that he was “worried” about Lincoln’s set-pieces and aerial ability before the game. “We already knew exactly what to expect; long balls, free kicks, throws into the box. We struggled a bit in the first half.”

But a more pressing concern will have emerged from ongoing issues in their in-possession shape, with Chelsea once again finding it difficult to navigate a recurring defensive ploy designed to block out their preferred route up the pitch.

Much like at Brentford, where Igor Thiago followed Moises Caicedo across the pitch during build-up, Chelsea were faced with a towering centre-forward, Freddie Draper, man-marking their deepest midfielder when their centre-backs had the ball.

Andrey Santos found himself in that No 6 role at Lincoln, and while the Brazilian did little wrong when the ball came his way, often keeping it moving as neatly as he could, he frequently found himself crowded out and unable to progress the ball effectively to his more advanced teammates.

It required more movement into space from Facundo Buonanotte, Enzo Fernandez and Malo Gusto higher up the field. But they struggled for long periods of the first half to shake off their own markers, often wide centre-backs jumping from the Lincoln back five and applying pressure as the passes came in. 

“We had a 5-diamond-1, and we made sure Freddie looked after their holding midfielder,” confirmed Skubala after the game. “Our No 8s had to be really aggressive and when they jumped, our centre-backs did so at the same time.”

It’s a template that teams are using repeatedly to frustrate Maresca’s team — Crystal Palace operated similarly in their 0-0 draw on the opening day of the Premier League season. It begs the question; what can Chelsea do differently to help them create space against compact, back-five sides?

At Brentford, it was a raft of half-time substitutions that helped to turn the tide. In their maiden Premier League starts for the club, both Buonanotte and Jorrel Hato seemed hesitant to drift too far from their positions within Maresca’s structural framework in the first half, making it easy for the opposition to block the passes into them, as shown below.

Marc Cucurella’s introduction at the break — a dynamic mover when he tucks into midfield, happy to dart out wide or stretch play with runs in behind — helped hugely. As did that of Cole Palmer, Chelsea’s talisman and best player when it comes to finding pockets of space. 

More adventurous off-ball movement will come with the likes of Hato and Buonanotte, as they grow in confidence and gain precious experience in their new roles against high-physicality sides.

But for now, as Palmer grapples with a groin injury, and Maresca looks to keep the team fresh, Chelsea may continue to look a little stale against teams who man-mark the deep midfielder, simply due to some of their more inexperienced players needing time to find their feet in such demanding roles further up the pitch.

Though Maresca did find a solution at Lincoln it remains to be seen if it can translate to the Premier League.

Chasing the game, Chelsea took a risk and committed an extra man to midfield, pushing both Gusto — as they did in the first half — and Hato further forward during build-up. It left only two defenders back if Chelsea lost the ball, but against a lower-quality side, it was a chance that Maresca was willing to take.

We can see the confusion it caused in the Lincoln press below. While in the first half, Draper simply had to stick to Santos while his teammate pushed on, he now needed to ask for support from his midfield with an extra player between the lines to pick up and no-one available to put pressure on the ball.

In those moments of hesitation, Fernandez dropped into midfield to offer for the pass, before whipping a pass into the space created by the Lincoln midfielder pushing on.

In the end, the solution was a logical one, as Maresca brought another player closer to the man-marked Santos to give the opposition more to think about between their defensive lines.

That said, it did leave Maresca’s side even more vulnerable to the counter, and were it not for the game state — trailing in a contest that they ought to be winning — the manager may not have been so bold.

Another solution for Chelsea to stretch the opposition is to ask their forward players to make more runs in behind the defensive line. 

With Liam Delap in the side, a strong, direct centre-forward who thrives when it comes to channel running and powerful off-ball movement, Chelsea can look longer and bypass the blocked-up midfield. Without him, there is Joao Pedro, who more often likes the ball to feet, while Tyrique George was unable to trouble the Lincoln centre-backs in the first half with any darts into the space in behind.

It all leaves Maresca in a slightly vulnerable position going forward. With Palmer struggling for consistent minutes, and a supporting cast still needing time to familiarise themselves with the system, there is a pretty robust defensive blueprint to keep this Chelsea side at bay.

Not every team will go about it in the same way — Fulham pressed more aggressively when they visited Stamford Bridge before the international break, often locking on man-to-man and cutting off that simple pass into the deepest midfielder with more aggression.

However it happens, the point still stands: Chelsea will need to find some more creative routes through the opposition when their favourite supply line into Caicedo or Santos is blocked.