Can Enzo Maresca bring Chelsea back to the top?

As Chelsea remain in second spot heading into the weekend, here's a look at how the Italian has turned the tide at Stamford Bridge.

Can Enzo Maresca bring Chelsea back to the top?

Enzo Maresca's Chelsea is now second in the Premier League (Via X/@ChelseaFC)

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca remains a breath of fresh air for The Blues ever since his appointment in June 2024. Chelsea has had quite a change in form this season. Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and several others have assumed highly important roles in the squad.

After an unimpressive finish in sixth position last season, the club holds the second position. They are only behind Arne Slot‘s Liverpool at the moment. Maresca’s side has scored the most number of goals this season in the English top flight. They have dominated with 31 goals scored so far.

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With 15 conceded, the club also boasts the second lowest goal difference. All things considered, Chelsea looks like they are headed in the right direction according to many. However, there still remains the question of whether Enzo Maresca will manage to keep this up as the season enters its business end.

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Is Enzo Maresca too ‘harsh’ with his players?

To begin with, the manager employs a different approach in comparison to several other managers at top clubs. Instead of constantly backing and praising his stars, the Italian doesn’t hesitate to call players out.

Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca doesn’t hesitate to call out players for their mistakes (Via X/@ChelseaFC)

Time and again, the manager has made no effort to conceal criticism or offer constructive feedback for his stars. The example of Noni Madueke and his ‘brutal’ assessment becomes an example of the same.

His rigid decision making and adamant demands drove Raheem Sterling out of the club. The 29-year-old Englishman currently plies his trade at Arsenal. While his extremely direct approach at player management does have its perks, it remains to be seen whether squad morale and public opinion will remain the same.

Is Chelsea really in the title race?

Despite all the wins and impressive individual performances, a very important question remains unanswered – is Chelsea really in the title race? Despite the club’s brilliant form, Enzo Maresca has time and again refused to agree.

Enzo Maresca and Enzo Fernandez
Enzo Maresca is delighted with the way Enzo Fernandez has been playing (Via X/@ChelseaFC)

As per the 44-year-old, his side is not equipped to beat the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City to the Premier League trophy. Moreover, the club has one of the most youngest assembled squads in the League this season. As such, they may lack the experience to keep things up till the end.

The same question has evolved different reactions from the rest of Maresca’s players, too. While Cole Palmer simply evaded the question, Noni Madueke remained positive, but refused to commit. Phrases like ‘one game at a time’ and ‘we are up for it’ are regularly employed by the Englishman.

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What do recent results say?

With just one defeat in the last ten games, Chelsea remains undoubtedly one of the most in-form teams. Their most recent game in the competition ended 5-1 in its favor. Goals from the likes of Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, and Jadon Sancho set the stage for the victory.

Enzo Fernandez's goal vs Leicester City
Chelsea has only lost one of the last 10 games in all competitions (Via X/@ChelseaFC)

Even though Chelsea benefited from the fact that Southampton had to play with a man less, five goals past its opponents had the away fans singing ‘We’ve got our Chelsea back.’ A 3-1 victory over Aston Villa, a 2-1 win over Maresca’s former side Leicester and a 1-1 draw against Arsenal are all impressive results.

With its next game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, fans are convinced that The Blues will end up battering Ange Postecoglou‘s side. Any slip up against Spurs will offer The Gunners a golden opportunity to overtake its rivals and grab second place.

Enzo Maresca is a master of rotation

With a squad of 45 players for the 2024/25 season, The Blues enjoy the luxury of having at least two players per position. As seen against Southampton, Enzo Maresca made seven changes. This includes the re-introductions of Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku.

Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca made seven changes for the game against Southampton (Via X/@ChelseaFC)

Maresca has regularly made use of the players at his disposal. Most of his rotations have come in the UEFA Conference League. Nkunku often fills in for Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto instead of Joao Felix and Romeo Lavia for star midfielder Enzo Fernandez are the rotations.

With Maresca’s first rotation gamble in the Premier League paying off, fans hope the tactician’s methods will help the side pitch up in the title race. It is clear that Maresca has no fixed game plan and tweaks his side regularly as per the strengths as weaknesses of his opponents.

Recently, fans were surprised to see Moises Caicedo start at right back against Aston Villa, and then gradually migrate to midfield. This further allowed Enzo Fernandez to play higher up the pitch, eventually resulting in the Argentine scoring in the first half. Main man Cole Palmer has mostly been offered a central role, with freedom to roam across the pitch.

Chelsea’s ‘fearless’ youth gets the job done

Chelsea’s squad is so young to the extent that the oldest squad Enzo Maresca fielded this season against Southampton is still the 14th youngest used by a side all season. Even though Maresca trusts his young players, there is no compulsion within the club for the young line-up to immediately compete for trophies.

Cole Palmer, Sancho & Levi Colwill vs Forest
Chelsea are well equipped to dominate the coming years with an incredible line-up of young stars (Via X/@ChelseaFC)

It is understood that the management’s demands from Maresca remain unchanged, with focus falling on challenging for a place in the Champions League. Chelsea’s extremely young set of players sets the club up with the opportunity to completely dominate the playing field given Maresca works out his plan.

While the press is continuously chasing answers from players and manager as to what they aim to do in the title race, the club’s priorities are different. As things stand, Chelsea is currently in the top of the Conference League table with 12 points from 4 games.

Chelsea is no longer Cole Palmer FC

Despite the amount of money invested in building a competitive squad, it was no secret that Chelsea was heavily reliant on Cole Palmer for goals. However, this has been far from the case this season, with Chelsea being the side with the most goals scored in the Premier League.

Out of the 31 League goals, Palmer has been responsible for 9 of them. Nicolas Jackson has five to his name while Noni Madueke is close behind with five. The club’s total goal tally is already seven more than that of its underwhelming 2022/23 season.

Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku
Chelsea no longer rely only on Palmer to get the job done (Via X/@ChelseaFC)

Chelsea players are averaging a whopping 2.6 goals per game, which also happens to be a club record. Despite the brilliance in attack, Chelsea does have a few issues to sort out at the back. Even though only three sides have conceded lesser goals than The Blues, the injury of Wesley Fofana means that the club will need to make do without their ‘best’ centre back for the winter schedule.

With Manchester City’s season spiraling out of control, Chelsea have the opportunity to take its place and play the long game against Liverpool. Even though the Reds enjoy a seven-point lead in the Premier League, Chelsea is only two draws and a loss (for LFC) away from matching the former’s point tally. Maresca leading Chelsea to a title this season would be nothing short of marking history for the Italian manager.