Is Maresca turning things around at Chelsea?

Although it's still extremely early days in the 2024/25 season, Chelsea seem to be quietly laying the groundwork for a resurgence after a tough few years.

For a club once synonymous with winning silverware year after year, the post-Roman Abramovich era - following his disqualification by the Premier League due to UK government sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - has been pretty dismal.

Since a consortium of investors led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and private equity giant Clearlake Capital undertook ownership of Chelsea in May 2022, the club has had six different coaches.

In that time, they have failed to win a trophy, finished the last two Premier League seasons in sixth and 12th and spent a whopping $1.4 billion on new recruits.

Brighter days may be on the horizon for Chelsea under Enzo Maresca, who took charge as head coach on a five-year deal in June.

Before the Italian's appointment, I wrote an article questioning whether his limited experience made him the right choice to lead the club back to the upper echelons of English football.

I’m happy to admit when I’m wrong, and although he is only just five Premier League games into his tenure, Maresca already looks to be turning things around in west London.

Following an opening-day defeat to Manchester City, the Blues have gone unbeaten in their last four league matches, starting to showcase Maresca’s distinctive brand of football.

The 44-year-old places emphasis on a deep build-up strategy, aiming to beat the high press with short, controlled passes from the back. Although it’s still early days, Chelsea's style of play is already taking shape, with the players buying into his philosophy.

Two standout moments from their 3-0 win over West Ham last weekend exemplify this.

For Nicolas Jackson’s second goal, Chelsea seamlessly played through the lines, with Moisés Caicedo splitting the defence with a pinpoint pass, allowing Jackson a clear run to score.

Cole Palmer’s goal was equally impressive - Chelsea worked the ball out from the back with simple passes, creating space for Jackson to surge forward before setting up Palmer.

These moments are clear evidence that Maresca's approach is resonating with the squad.

The outing against Chelsea also proved Maresca had learnt from previous games.

In their 6-2 win over Wolves last month, Chelsea looked defensively fragile, conceding too many chances through simple errors. Against West Ham, it was the complete opposite; they effectively nullified the Hammers and limited their opportunities.

Questions remain about the defence’s overall solidity, and I’m still not convinced Robert Sánchez is the long-term answer in goal. But early signs under Maresca suggest improvements are being made on both sides of the pitch.

"I think we are on the right path,” said Maresca after the West Ham game.

“We are on the right direction. This is a long journey. Because we are in a good moment, it looks like everything is fine but not everything is fine. We could attack better, we could defend better. The most important thing is how the players work together."

Whether he can mount a challenge into the top four and secure Champions League football once again remains to be seen – tougher challenges lie ahead, including Saturday’s game against an impressive Brighton.

As stated in the very first sentence of this article, it is still very early days under his stewardship and football is a fickle game, especially in the cutthroat world of Chelsea FC.

For now, Maresca has rightly earned the support of the Stamford Bridge faithful and made this author look a tad foolish with his pre-season prediction that he wasn’t the right man for the job.