Enzo Maresca had a bad December at Chelsea. He cannot afford a poor January
The Italian is under mounting scrutiny after a poor run of form and next month's schedule looks just as daunting
The good news for Enzo Maresca is the struggles of December are finally over. The bad news is January represents an even tougher task.
For the second successive month, Maresca has an intense schedule to oversee but he will need to do a much better job of it to get Chelsea’s season heading back in the right direction and to relieve the pressure that is growing on his position.
The manner of Tuesday’s 2-2 home draw with Bournemouth was a fitting way for Chelsea’s disappointing December to draw to a close. Their record in eight fixtures across three competitions (Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup) reads: won two, drew three and lost three. To put the underwhelming run into further perspective, one of those victories was against League One Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. Important, yes, but hardly unexpected.
Chelsea’s Premier League form has nosedived. They ended November with that very credible 1-1 draw against leaders Arsenal despite being down to 10 men for almost an hour due to Moises Caicedo getting sent off. The result left Maresca’s side third in the table and still within six points of their London rivals. Now, after one win in six matches, they are fifth and the margin to Arsenal has stretched to 15 points.
For all the talk of Chelsea being on the rise during 2025 with two trophies and playing Champions League football again, it will be understandable if fans are beginning to ask, “Progress, what progress?”
At the same stage last season, when they had also played 19 Premier League games, Chelsea sat fourth with 35 points. The club were one place and five points better off than they are now. They were also just 10 points behind then-leaders Liverpool, five fewer than the current gap to Arsenal.
One of the caveats is Maresca having the luxury of resting most of his first-team players for league games in the first half of 2024-25 because the second string were good enough to win UEFA Conference League group games. Being in the Champions League this season has placed much greater demands on key personnel.
But that does not excuse Maresca from results taking such a significant downturn. No Chelsea head coach should expect that. The supporters at Stamford Bridge left him in no doubt as to their feelings by chanting “You don’t know what you’re doing” after the Italian took off Cole Palmer for a second home game in a row.
Cole Palmer was again substituted by Enzo Maresca (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
That criticism is a bit harsh given Maresca is clearly trying to be careful with Palmer following his return from a groin injury, which kept him out for nearly three months. But it betrays a growing frustration towards him from the stands and that is never a good sign.
