Another Maresca change featured Marc Cucurella out wide on the left hand side. Cucurella's transformation in his quality has been one of the better stories of recent history. So what is the reason for the Spaniard's success? Maresca's use of inverting Cucurella, often into positions as played by a No.8, 6, or 10. Cucurella has thrived in this role, and was even entrusted to do so by the Spanish national team during their European Championship winning run this summer. Since then, Cucurella has been on a career changing run, being one of the Blues' highest performing players of the season.
Cucurella was bought for £65 million; a fee that many claimed was ridiculously high. Brighton, Cucurella's former team, used Manchester City's interest in the Spaniard to drive the price up, ultimately going to Chelsea. City pursued Cucu heavily, specifically because of their manager Pep Guardiola, and his admiration for his ability to invert and be an effective player in the midfield. Cucurella's progression and change of form has been directly correlated to the increase of inverted opportunities in Maresca's system. This change also forces the likes of Reece James or Malo Gusto to hold more structure and advance forward on the outer right flank, ideally working towards what makes them such great players.
For the third game in a row, CFC lacked fire, ambition and urgency. They struggled against teams who submitted possession to them, and even gave up the possession advantage like the Fulham game. Maresca's refusal to make in game decisions and changes has come back to hurt this side. The Italian loves to admire the depth of his squad in press conferences, but is timid in situations where it is needed.
Maresca needs to have more humility in his decisions. There have been multiple instances so far this year where it seems like public and media opinions is weighing into his options. Several times we have seen Cole Palmer be non existent yet Maresca's noncompliance to substitute him off continuously hurts this team. The lack of use from Joao Felix, only to start him after it seemed the heat about the topic was the hottest, proved he left his game plan and fell into other's input.
Chelsea now sit 4th in the Premier League, after having a multiple point lead just eight days ago. Maresca's managerial decisions will continue to be under a large microscope, as the club looks to bounce back and continue their domestic success.