Ahead of the 2024/25 premier League season, Enzo Maresca was appointed to control the chaos at Chelsea, with the west Londoners experiencing a revolving door of managers in recent years. Since their last Premier League triumph in 2017, the Blues have struggled to regain their former dominance as favourites when betting on football over the years.
Despite winning the Champions League in 2021, Chelsea have endured several near misses when it comes to trophies in the Todd Bohely era, including a frustrating defeat to Liverpool in last season’s League Cup final.
Now, Maresca is tasked with guiding a team that has become serial cup-final losers back to the top of English football, all while the club has two owners who want to buy each other out.
After Mauricio Pochettino’s stint at Stamford Bridge ended in disappointment, club owner Boehly made another bold managerial switch. This led to the appointment of Maresca, who had just achieved great success with Leicester, guiding them to a Championship title.
The club saw him as the man to get Chelsea back on track. Despite his lack of top-tier managerial experience the Italian is known for his tactical knowledge and meticulous preparation.
However, his first few games have been a mixed bag. While there have been moments of promise, Chelsea’s inconsistency continues to haunt them, with results reflecting the growing pains of a team in transition.
Maresca inherited a massive squad of over 40 players this summer, a major challenge for any manager. He made decisive moves, cutting the squad nearly in half and showing the door to some experienced names, including Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell.
These bold decisions mean Maresca now has to fully commit to the players he’s chosen. With such a gamble, the Italian must get things right, with the signings of Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho late in the window borne out of desperation and results.
Back on the pitch, Chelsea’s start to the season has been shaky. After picking up just four points from their first three games, eyebrows have been raised.
A loss to reigning champions Manchester City was expected, but the team showed improvement in a win against Wolverhampton Wanderers, spearheaded by a Noni Madueke. But the poor form resurfaced in a frustrating 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, though he feels his side were unfortunate against the Eagles.
Maresca’s challenge is to get Chelsea playing consistently, stringing together results if they’re to challenge for a top-four spot.
“I feel it is a shame for the players because when we finished the game, you could see the players’ frustrations,” he said. “In the way we played today, we are going to win games.”
“We completely deserved to win the game. We created chances and controlled the game. We didn’t concede chances and in the first half, I think they just had one shot on goal with Adam Wharton and then they had the goal in the second half which was a fantastic goal.”
The manager arrives with a winning pedigree, having led Leicester to the Championship title last season and serving as part of Manchester City’s backroom staff during their historic treble-winning campaign in 2023. Chelsea, meanwhile, have lost six finals in a row at Wembley, and their last piece of silverware was the Club World Cup in 2022.
Long term, for Maresca to truly succeed, he must bring an end to Chelsea’s recent trophy drought and restore a winning mentality at the club. For now, attention can turn to both domestic and continental action, with the Blues playing in the UEFA Europa Conference League for the first time. Only time will tell if the Italian is still in charge come when the final approaches in Poland next May.