Chelsea board’s Enzo Maresca stance ‘revealed’, how Reece James is key
Enzo Maresca’s future as Chelsea manager was called into question after his side’s shock 2-2 draw with minnows Qarabag in the Champions League in midweek.
Enzo Maresca‘s side were nowhere near their best in Baku as they had to battle to come from behind and take a point back to West London on Wednesday (5 November).
Estevao had put Chelsea into the lead early on before two quickfire Qarabag goals saw them leading at the break, with Alejandro Garnacho the scorer after the interval as it ended 2-2.
Maresca’s job at Chelsea has been questioned in recent times, and fans were quick to jump on his back after the tie due to the amount of changes made to his side and the poor performances that came with it.
They will now turn their focus back to the Premier League, with managerless Wolves making the trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday (8 November), and the Italian’s future looks safe despite his constant chopping and changing this season.
Chelsea board ‘impressed’ by Maresca’s use of squad with James’ fitness a particular boost
Maresca is believed to need to secure Champions League football again this season to stay in his job, with the Blues spending around £300million in the summer in order to do exactly that.
They currently sit seventh in the Premier League and 12th in the Champions League after some patchy form to start the campaign off, but it does not look as if he is going anywhere, anytime soon.
According to the Daily Mail (6 November), Maresca’s constant rotation policy is done with the “full backing” of the Chelsea hierarchy, as it a club-wide approach and one they believe is necessary to compete on all fronts this season.
The report states that Stamford Bridge chiefs are “not panicking,” nor are they disappointed in Maresca’s decision-making, which has seen him make 85 starting line-up changes in 16 matches this season, by far the most of any Premier League team.
Those above the Italian boss are “impressed” by how he has handled rotating his side since taking charge, while his handling of club-captain Reece James, in particular, has been “appreciated” by the board.
Maresca has stressed that he needs to use his squad as a whole after Club World Cup run
Chelsea have clearly had a plan in mind all along to give Maresca a big squad to work with, especially after they won the Club World Cup in July and had just over a month to recuperate and prepare for the new season.
The 45-year-old defended his constant tinkering approach following his side’s draw against Qarabag on Wednesday, saying: “When we make changes it is because we think the plan with the players that start is the correct one.
“We have players, the intention tonight was to rest Enzo [Fernandez], to rest Moises [Caicedo], to rest Malo [Gusto], to rest more players, because they are not able to play every three days.
“They need recovery from last season, as you say, the Club World Cup affects a lot. We try to rotate…when you win, no-one mentioned all that.”
Maresca will know who he needs to drop against Wolves this weekend, and Chelsea will hope to get back to winning ways on home turf as they aim to break back into the top five once more this season.