Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea must look into why they are throwing away so many leads, with the Blues boss believing the wastefulness curtailing their campaign is ‘not random’.
Maresca is managing the youngest side in Premier League history and their latest loss to Aston Villa only added to the scrutiny surrounding their overall lack of experience.
Villa came from behind to beat Chelsea, who have now dropped 13 points from winning positions in the Premier League, with 11 of those being thrown away specifically at Stamford Bridge.
That has contributed to them not only falling away from the title conversation but out of the top four. Remarkably, points-wise, Chelsea are now closer to Nottingham Forest in 17th than Arsenal in first.
Bournemouth are the next visitors to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night and, when asked if experience would help in losses like the Villa one, Maresca said: ‘Again, I don’t know, it’s a matter to understand the reason why, because I don’t think it’s random.
‘When something continues to happen, it’s not random. We need to understand why, no matter if we are winning, drawing or losing, we concede a goal, we lose a little control.
Chelsea slipped up yet again at home against Aston Villa last weekend
The Blues surrendered the lead as a late Ollie Watkins leveller saw them lose more ground on their top four rivals
Enzo Maresca served a touchline ban in the defeat against Villa
‘We need to understand the reason why.’
Maresca’s substitutions have been scrutinised also. While Unai Emery’s changes swung the contest in Villa’s favour, Chelsea’s hardly made a difference.
Maresca, who was serving a touchline ban but still in charge of the subs, brought on Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and Malo Gusto for Joao Pedro, Alejandro Garnacho and Marc Cucurella. He also removed Cole Palmer for Estevao Willian.
When asked whether he needed to reflect on his own use of his bench, Maresca disagreed that it was an issue. ‘No, I think it’s in general,’ he said.
Cucurella’s removal was enforced as the left back complained of a hamstring issue during the game. It is not known whether he will be fit to face Bournemouth and the timing is less than ideal with his deputy, Jorrel Hato, also injured currently. Cole Palmer and Reece James also need to be checked to see whether they can handle starting another game so soon.
Maresca wants Chelsea to end 2025 on a high after winning only one of their last six outings in the Premier League. ‘That is absolutely very important,’ he said. ‘It becomes very important to finish the year in the best way. Again, for sure, it will be another tough game because they are all the same, but we need to win games as soon as possible.
‘It (a top-four finish) is the target. (Saturday’s) game doesn’t reflect the 10 points difference between us and Villa, to be honest. In the first half, they were 0.00 in terms of xG – they didn’t create nothing.
‘These are many positive things, but we need to understand how to manage better when we concede goals. We need to be confident. We need to think that, hopefully, we can go close again to the ones that are ahead of us.’
If Moises Caicedo is cautioned versus Bournemouth, he will be suspended for their next game, away at Manchester City.
