After an abysmal first half against Lincoln City, Chelsea ended a three-game string of poor results against Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Brentford with a 2-1 win at the LNER Stadium.
But how concerning is their recent form?
The Blues began the season confidently, with two wins against Fulham and West Ham, after a goalless draw against Crystal Palace in the first game of the season.
However, a 2-2 draw at Brentford, a 3-1 defeat at Bayern Munich, and a 2-1 defeat at Manchester United, has left Chelsea fans questioning Maresca and the mentality of his team.
Goalkeeper: The Biggest Concern
Embed from Getty ImagesRobert Sanchez, who had a pretty good Club World Cup and a decent start to the season, somehow crumbled on the occasion of playing at Old Trafford against an average United side.
What on earth was he thinking by rushing out of his box and taking out Brian Mbuemo in the fifth minute of the game?
He may as well have let the Cameroon Winger score. There was plenty of time for Chelsea to get back into the game.
Embed from Getty ImagesThen you have Filip Jorgensen, who does not look at all comfortable at dealing with crosses into the box, as was the case with the opening goal last night.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere’s a question: Should Chelsea have accepted AC Milan’s £21 million valuation of Mike Maignan and got the deal done in the summer?
Embed from Getty ImagesShould they have at least joined Manchester City in the race to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma?
One can understand sending Mike Penders on loan to Strasbourg for his development, but not replacing him with a more substantial keeper is criminal.
However, according to some reports, both Chelsea and United could be in the run-in to sign the French keeper in January.
However, this is an issue that needed fixing in the summer, and now the team is suffering as a result.
Lapses Of Concentration And Silly Mistakes
Embed from Getty ImagesOne of the other concerns for Chelsea is that they often struggle to see out tight games, often due to a lapse in concentration or a silly mistake.
It cost them against Brentford in the 93rd minute, and the two games that followed.
For a team that wants to win trophies, this needs to stop.
Maresca either needs his team to outscore their opponents, or work vigorously hard on their defending, especially when attempting to see out the game.
However, this is not just the job of the keeper and the back four; the midfield and forwards also need to step in when they can.
Of course, it doesn’t help when you don’t have enough quality in terms of centre-back options, as Maresca alluded to.
Embed from Getty Images“The problem is that we also have Wes Fofana playing after a long time. So if we rest Tosin, if we rest Trev, and if we rest Wes, probably I need to play some part of the game. “We don’t have defenders so some of them need to play.”
Maresca: BBC SportThere bags another question as to why this wasn’t sorted out in the summer?
Alternatively, you could think about playing Jorrel Hato there.
But whatever Maresca decides to do in the upcoming fixtures against Brighton & Hove Albion, Benfica, and Liverpool, he must stick to a starting XI that he knows he can trust to win the games.
Can Chelsea revive some early-season form, or will we get another rough patch?
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