Enzo Maresca’s press conferences have been a little tense recently, so it’s always nice to see him chatting with Chelsea TV where he’s only thrown softball questions, lightening the mood a little.
The tension in the press conferences have come from questions about Chelsea’s struggles for fluency, especially in the first half of the last 3 games and so it was interesting to see Maresca go right away with the same line he had post-game with the media – that it was all deliberate, a sort of “rope a dope” plan to feel out the opposition by playing terribly and then pounce in the second half.
You can see Maresca speaking in the clip from Chelsea TV embedded here:
Thoughts from the boss.
#CFC | #UECL pic.twitter.com/2lZQUMsrcp
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 14, 2025
Maresca claims boring first halves are all part of the plan
“The first game and second game were similar. In the first halves we tried to analyse and study the situation, then in the second half push a little bit more. The game was planned in the exact same way for the first leg and second leg, in terms of in the first half waiting and analysing the situation… in both games we did the same.”
It’s a risky game to play. Even if you’re deliberately playing at a low tempo, you’re just asking for trouble, especially when the fans are already on your back. You could easily get into a negative spiral.
And let’s face it, no manager can say with a straight face after a half where they managed 0 shots and 0.00 xG that it was “all part of the plan” and expect people to buy it.
Still, the important thing is that we won and we’re through. We wonder if he’s planning the same strategy against Arsenal this weekend?
