Maresca hints at wanting older heads at Chelsea following chaotic week
Chelsea Manager Enzo Maresca insisted his team will not be distracted by speculation over his future. newcastle – but that wasn’t the case for 45 minutes on Saturday.
Even before kick-off, Maresca appeared to question Chelsea’s focus on solely buying youngsters, suggesting that having more experienced players was “invaluable”.
The Blues were unable to make any further progress at St James’ Park, where they had lost 15 times in the Premier League campaign, and found themselves 2-0 down thanks to a pair of first-half goals from striker Nick Woltemade.
The first half was so bad that Chelsea gave up an expected goals figure of 1.97; It was his worst figure in the first 45 minutes in more than two years. They were prone to making mistakes at the back, were wasteful in possession, struggled and failed to register shots on target.
The lack of performance was surprising given that Chelsea had a successful performance after beating Everton at home last weekend. That form became even more evident after the break as Reece James hit back with a superb free-kick from 25 yards and Joao Pedro’s superb individual goal.
Despite Chelsea’s improvement, they were still counting on a crucial call to go their way as Newcastle controversially saw their penalty shootout waved away before Pedro equalized when Trevoh Chalobah hit Anthony Gordon in the box.
It was felt that Maresca’s post-match comments last week – which many said had been his “worst 48 hours since joining the club” – continued to influence the players at times.
Since those comments, the Italian has been linked with Manchester City – speculation he described as “100 per cent” unfounded – and his relationship with the hierarchy has been constantly questioned.
He also expressed some thoughts about the make-up of his squad before the match, saying he would be happy with a little more experience.
He said earlier in the week: “I love the team, I love the young players” and told TNT before kick-off: “I’m very happy. I’m just focusing on the things I can control – the pitch side – knowing that there’s always noise you have to manage.”
But he later added: “If you have 20, 21-year-old players and a 30- or 31-year-old player and he starts telling them things, that’s very valuable. But that’s the club’s strategy.”
Was this another example of Maresca lowering expectations and emphasizing which part of the project was under his control?
He was also fighting for players, even receiving a dissenting penalty for leading a respectable challenge in the second half.
This was the fourth time Chelsea avoided defeat in the Premier League after falling behind by two or more goals at half-time. Both teams had a chance to win in an entertaining match.
However, although Maresca has shown his resolve, it remains an open question whether this ongoing power struggle will affect the progress of Chelsea players.
