When Chelsea defeated Brentford at home on December 16th, it seemed like they were finally back to being a top team. There was still a long way to go, and it remained a young squad, but the feel-good factor had returned for both the team and the fans. However, since that day, things have steadily declined.
The win over Brentford was significant for fans as it marked Chelsea’s first-ever home victory against their London rivals in the Premier League. Under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea had also managed away wins against teams that had troubled them in recent seasons, such as West Ham, Wolves, and Bournemouth.
These results and other promising performances had fans believing in the team’s resurgence. The victory over Brentford took Chelsea just two points behind league leaders Liverpool, sparking premature title discussions.
Chelsea’s European hopes dwindle due to Enzo Maresca’s mismanagement
However, Maresca quickly dismissed such notions, insisting the team was unprepared for a title challenge. While it’s difficult to quantify the effect of repeated statements like this on the players, it is clear that Chelsea’s form has nosedived since then.
Since December 16th, Chelsea have won just two of their last ten Premier League games, losing half of them. Fans online are divided on where to place the blame. Some rightfully question Maresca’s decisions, while others point fingers at the sporting directors and owners.
On paper, this Chelsea side was never expected to challenge for the title, but they were good enough to climb to second place in the table. For such a team to experience such a drastic downfall, responsibility must be placed on Maresca.
Before the Brentford win, his proactiveness in making tactical and personnel changes was evident, even if there were flaws in his system. However, since Chelsea’s trip to Everton, their performances have mirrored the disastrous defeat to Newcastle in the EFL Cup. Maresca has inexplicably stopped making in-game tactical adjustments, and his substitutions have been ineffective.
One of Maresca’s biggest mistakes was his insistence on making Robert Sanchez his first-choice goalkeeper. Sanchez has been a problem for Chelsea since last season. Yet Maresca, despite supposedly studying hours of Chelsea’s matches, decided before preseason that Sanchez would be his number one.
Fans had already seen his shortcomings: conceding easy goals, putting teammates under pressure, misplacing passes, and launching long balls out for throw. It took until February for Maresca to drop him in favour of Filip Jorgensen.
Sanchez’s poor performance was the trigger he was dropped rather than Jorgensen making himself undroppable. Yet when an FA Cup match came around, Sanchez was immediately reinstated, as if his mistakes carried no real consequences.
There was no obligation to play him just because he’s now the second-choice keeper, especially when he was dropped for being a liability, not to be rotated.
In reality, Sanchez should never play for Chelsea again. If Maresca continues this trend, Sanchez could start in Chelsea’s UEFA Conference League campaign, despite proving repeatedly that he should not be anywhere near the starting lineup.
Meanwhile, Djordje Petrovic, who Maresca seemingly had no interest in, has been excelling in Ligue 1, not just in shot-stopping but also in his passing ability.
Another issue with Maresca’s tactics is his rigid use of inverted fullbacks. While tactical flexibility is important, he has shown an unwillingness to adapt. Against Brighton, he inverted Malo Gusto into midfield, leaving a winger like Kaoru Mitoma with space to exploit.
When Marc Cucurella was asked to move into midfield, Yankuba Minteh had the freedom to attack from wing-back, scoring twice. What makes it worse is that Chelsea had faced Brighton in the FA Cup just a week earlier in a losing effort.
Instead of learning from the mistakes of that match, Maresca repeated them, leading to an even worse performance. It takes a special kind of mismanagement to show no growth despite a clear opportunity to improve.
Chelsea’s recent run of fixtures should have been an opportunity to consolidate their position in the top four, but poor tactical decisions have seen them drop to sixth. Some of the worst performances in recent memory have come during this stretch.
They lost to Ipswich Town at a stadium where Ipswich have failed to win any other Premier League match this season. Against Manchester City, Maresca’s decision to play a high defensive line, coupled with mistakes from the center-back pairing of Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill, made life easy for Pep Guardiola’s struggling side.
At home, Maresca’s conservative approach has put Chelsea on the back foot. Rather than playing to his team’s strengths, he has tailored his tactics to counter the opposition. This was evident in their defeat to Fulham, where he instructed his wingers to play as wingbacks to nullify Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi.
This negative setup encouraged Fulham manager Marcos Silva to allow his right wing-back, Timothy Castagne, to push forward and grab an assist, completely exposing Chelsea’s passive approach.
Despite Chelsea’s poor run of form, Maresca has refused to utilizse his bench players, even though many performed well in the UEFA Conference League.
The lack of rotation led several players to leave on loan in January, further weakening squad depth. Fatigue will only increase as the season progresses for the first-choice players, making injuries more likely.
The defensive situation has been another major failure. Renato Veiga was signed as cover for Cucurella who is versatile enough to play in multiple positions but was completely ignored by Maresca. During Chelsea’s good run of form, Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill formed a stable centereback partnership.
Since then, injuries and poor choices have disrupted the backline. Benoît Badiashile, who looked solid, was sidelined. But Veiga was not given a chance there or any other position. Veiga eventually left on loan to Juventus, who had won just one of their previous eight games before his arrival.
Since then, Juventus have won four straight matches, including a victory over defending champions Inter Milan, earning Veiga widespread praise. Chelsea also loaned Axel Disasi to Aston Villa but only recalled Chalobah, who has since been at fault for multiple goals. Without Fofana, Colwill’s weaknesses have been exposed.
Chelsea’s struggles in attack are also glaring. To be fair, both recognised strikers were injured just before the transfer window closed. Joao Felix, who had experience leading the line, had already been loaned to AC Milan.
As a result, Christopher Nkunku has been forced to play up front, with Cole Palmer behind him. There is no depth in these positions. Despite Nicolas Jackson’s poor finishing, Maresca has refused to experiment.
Nkunku and Marc Guiu performed well as strikers in the Conference League but were not given enough chances in the Premier League. Guiu’s lack of match sharpness may have even contributed to his injury against West Ham.
The outlook is bleak. On Friday, Chelsea failed to register a single shot on target for the first time this season. Even Palmer, who thrived in Mauricio Pochettino’s chaotic system, is struggling under Maresca’s rigid structure.
The lack of movement and insistence on a failing setup have hurt the team. Most games now see Chelsea’s defenders and deep-lying midfielders passing among themselves, waiting for space to open up instead of proactively working to create opportunities. Key players like Cucurella, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, and Palmer are being overplayed, increasing their risk of injury.
The upcoming fixtures paint a grim picture. Chelsea still have tough away games against Aston Villa, Arsenal, Brentford, Fulham, Newcastle, and Nottingham Forest, none of which seem winnable at the moment. They must also host Ipswich, Everton, Liverpool, and Manchester United, all teams they failed to beat in the reverse fixtures.
Even during this poor run, results elsewhere helped Chelsea remain in the top four until last week. But they cannot rely on luck anymore. At this rate, European qualification looks unlikely.
Despite poor results, the board still trusts Maresca, as per reports. However, sticking with him feels like delaying the inevitable. There are no signs of progress, and performances continue to deteriorate.
Even the UEFA Conference League, where Chelsea were considered favourites, now looks uncertain. Some fans still back Maresca due to early-season form, but Chelsea supporters should recognise the consequences of sticking with a manager despite poor results and failing to trust promising players. Time is running out for the Italian manager who looked like the man to take Chelsea back to the top just a few weeks ago.