Enzo Maresca told to turn around Chelsea’s dire run or he’s in ‘serious’ trouble
Chelsea enjoyed a successful summer as they lifted the Club World Cup, but their start to the Premier League season has been less than stellar.
Enzo Maresca‘s side suffered a 3-1 defeat to Brighton at Stamford Bridge on 27 September, with Enzo Fernandez‘s goal met by a brace from Danny Welbeck and Maxim De Cuyper‘s header.
That result means the Blues have now won just one of their last five games across all competitions, and that victory came in an unconvincing display against Lincoln City.
Maresca is now facing a defining fortnight at Chelsea, with games against Benfica and Liverpool possibly proving decisive for the manager’s position.
While there is currently believed to be no sack pressure on the boss, tensions are rising behind the scenes, with Maresca slammed for his decisions against Brighton.
‘Serious questions’ asked of Enzo Maresca at Chelsea
As a result of Chelsea‘s dramatic dip in form, serious questions are now being asked of the manager, and he must now prove himself over the coming weeks.
That is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that Maresca could soon come under pressure from the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.
Despite a successful first season in charge, the owners will demand they build on that success, and the manager must prove he can lead them to further silverware.
“Winning one game in five isn’t good enough for any Chelsea manager,” he told Football Insider.
“Sometimes you get these runs in a season, especially playing more than one game per week, where all of a sudden you find you’ve lost three or four games in no time at all.
“It’s up to the manager then to prove that it’s only a dip in form, rather than any sort of worrying issue.
“I’ve said for long enough that Chelsea’s defensive unit is not good enough, they’re vulnerable.
“When you can’t defend well, you can’t win games, and that’s a big problem. I don’t think the players are good enough, but at the same time, the manager has to organise things.
“There are teams in the Premier League with worse defenders than Chelsea, but they defend better.
“So if the manager can’t sort that out, there are going to be serious questions asked and I think there are already some questions being asked of him.
“If they can’t turn this form around quickly, and that one win in five become six, seven, and so on then you start to ask whether he’s in a strong position.
“With the hierarchy at Chelsea, I’m not sure that would be the case.”
Chelsea’s owners have been steadfast in their backing of Maresca as the man to take them forward, but should he fail to meet expectations, a decision may have to be made.
Chelsea have glaring weakness that will put Maresca under pressure
Brown told Football Insider on 22 September that Chelsea have “no chance” of competing with Arsenal and Liverpool as a result of their ongoing defensive issues.
Those claims were echoed as Jamie Carragher insisted Chelsea won’t challenge for the title this season as their centre-backs and goalkeeper are not good enough.
If they are unable to stabilise their recent defensive woes, the blame could shift away from the players and on to the manager’s tactics and organisation.
Brown warned Football Insider in April that Maresca could come under pressure at Chelsea after a string of bad results despite no immediate pressure.
The same situation has now emerged yet again, and while Maresca’s side will be given time to pick up form, fans are already growing impatient.
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