Enzo Maresca was smiling a rueful smile after Chelsea’s defeat to Newcastle today.
The coach gambled on a B team and lost. It happens. Despite that, he didn’t criticise the performance. It was only the result he didn’t like.
You can see the manager speaking in the clip embedded here:
A lack of control for 10 first-half minutes was a huge factor in tonight’s defeat, says the boss. #CFC | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/jc06yhkF1v
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 30, 2024
“We don’t like the result because we lost. But I think in the first half, for 20, 25 minutes we were very good. We had control of the game. We created some chances. And then after the goal we conceded… I think for ten minutes we lost control,” the coach explained when he spoke to Chelsea TV.
“But then again, in last ten minutes of the first half we conceded two or three clear chances. And the second half we were in control of the game. Creating chances that unfortunately we missed.”
Enzo is of course focusing on the positives – the chances created, the control of possession. But in reality his team didn’t convince as a whole, and they will have to do a hell of a lot better this weekend if they want a result.
Maresca will demand a reaction in private
The coach isn’t going to lay into his players in public, despite his rather frank manner. He will have learned a lot about some of them from their performance tonight however.
All of these guys will still be pushing for first XI minutes, although none did their case many favours tonight.
Filip Jorgensen looked even more shaky than Robert Sanchez for starters. The defenders even more timid than the first team. Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella have recently been dropped, and don’t look like they’re returning anytime soon.
The team will be entirely different on Sunday, but Maresca’s demands will be the same – a major improvement needed from tonight.
