aA minor incident in Chelsea’s final pre-season friendly against Inter last Sunday gave manager Enzo Maresca some hope that his seemingly random collection of 43 footballers was starting to grow as a team. Levi Colwill was kicked to the ground by Inter’s veteran centre-back Francesco Acerbi, causing mayhem as most of the Chelsea players swarmed in support of their teammates and surrounded referee Sam Barot.
While it wasn’t as bad as the “Battle of the Bridge” – the fiery clash between Chelsea and Tottenham eight years ago that saw the Englishman receive 12 bookings and a £600,000 fine from the Football Association – it was an encouraging sign for Maresca that his budding team are ready to fight for each other.
“That’s the right culture,” he said, preparing to take on Manchester City in his first competitive match as Chelsea manager on Sunday afternoon. “If there’s any malicious intent, I try to protect my team-mates. In one friendly, an opposing player kicked one of our players badly and other players were around him to protect him. It doesn’t mean I’ll be starting, but I’ll be there to protect my team-mates.”
“That’s what we need to do to become a team. We have to get closer, be more like friends. We have to look after ourselves on the pitch like brothers, otherwise we’ll struggle. It’s not enough to just say, ‘OK, we’re good players, that’s good enough.’
Maresca’s attempts to build a team have been hampered in the short term by Chelsea’s innovative approach to player acquisitions under the Todd Boley/Clearlake Capital regime, which has drawn wry comparisons to the 1990s game show Trolley Dash. Supermarket SweepAnother busy summer saw the signing of nine players, with Maresca still keen to bring in either forward Joao Felix or Victor Osimhen, and loan players taking Chelsea’s overall squad size to 53.
Chelsea claim the club is pursuing a data-driven approach that delivers results, and have drastically reduced their wage bill to an average of around £70,000 a week by targeting younger players, but real success will only come from improved performances on the field. That’s where Maresca comes in, with the Italian impressing club staff with his sharp judgement.
While his predecessors Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino tried to keep their squad happy, Maresca has been ruthless, forcing players the club wants to sell, including Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Armand Broja and Romelu Lukaku, to train individually. Ben Chilwell has been allowed to train with the team but the vice-captain was publicly reminded of his pecking order on Friday, with Maresca admitting that with his minutes limited, the England left-back would be better off finding a new club.
Marc Cucurella is likely to start against City rather than Chilwell. With Reece James out with a hamstring injury, Malogst will start at right-back, while Colwill will partner Wesley Fofana at centre-back. Romeo Rabia and Enzo Fernandes have emerged as Maresca’s favourite central midfielders in pre-season, but Chelsea’s attack is difficult to predict given his myriad options and the flexibility of his squad. Noni Madueke, Raheem Sterling, Mihailo Mudrik, Christopher Nkunku and new £54m signing Pedro Neto are all likely candidates, with only Cole Palmer a sure starter.
With Gallagher and Chilwell effectively shut out, Maresca is left with an inexperienced team to manage, which may suit a hands-on coach like Sunday’s opponent Pep Guardiola, who likes to teach and discuss every aspect of play. “I like the age of these guys,” Maresca said. “The important thing is that they are full of talent. But talent alone is not enough, you need something more. That’s why we are trying to create a culture not only on the pitch but off it as well.”
At just 22 and with one regular season in the Premier League, Palmer already looks to be Chelsea’s most important player, but Maresca acknowledges that he cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of the team’s creativity and goalscoring power alone. After a phenomenal season in which he contributed 27 goals and 15 assists in all competitions, Maresca fears this could be a tougher season for Palmer.
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“When you score 20 goals in a season, it’s always hard to repeat that. Whether it’s Cole Palmer or [Erling] “Haaland is there,” he said, “so it’s difficult. With Palmer there he has to share the goal responsibility with the other wingers and the attacking midfielder. It’s not all on Cole’s shoulders.”
“We play with two wingers, two attacking players and a number nine, which means five players are responsible for scoring goals and assisting their teammates. The wingers, the attacking players and the number nine are responsible for scoring goals.”
That game last November saw eight goals scored and was the highlight of the season. Maresca enjoyed the game at home near Leicester but is not hoping to witness a repeat on Sunday. “I was watching it at home and it was fantastic, but as a manager you don’t like conceding goals,” he said. “You don’t want to concede four.”
