Giving too much importance to the effects of the preseason is a perennial trap that must be avoided. But even if alarm bells are still ringing at Chelsea, their performances on their US tour so far will have many enthusiasts fearing that a summer of turmoil outside the box could lead to further unrest in the boxArray.
New boss Enzo Maresca shrugged off and said his team will “concede goals” with the flavour of the game from the back he is looking to impose after defensive errors saw Chelsea struggle to draw 2-2 against League One Wrexham in their 2-2 draw against League One Wrexham. first in the United States.
But leaving 4 Celtic opponents is likely to exceed their proper allocation. A blank sheet against Mexico’s Club America was a relief, but four more goals were conceded at Manchester City.
Against Wrexham, Celtic and City (with all the pre-season warnings in place), Chelsea looked open, doubtful and prone to errors. On several occasions there were spaces to exploit in defence, or Chelsea defenders returned the ball to the opponent in dangerous areas. City’s forwards probably had no luck with some of the gifts they received in Ohio.
“We still confuse things with and with the ball,” Maresca admitted after Celtic’s defeat. “It’s pervasive right now that we’re looking to do something new,” he added.
He showed this feeling after the humiliating defeat against City. “I have no doubts about the progress this team is making right now. Mistakes are part of the process. “
But that is the frustration. Chelsea finished last season with five wins on the clock after reaching a Carabao Cup final. Just when Mauricio Pochettino nevertheless felt that everything was going to work, his plan was discarded and, it seems, Chelsea are back to square one. .
A new style, more new players and, once again, a new guy. Maresca is the sixth man to take on the head coaching role, either on an interim basis or otherwise, since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over the club two years ago. .
Unlike his predecessors, Maresca does not like to direct high-level football. He has been the main player on the bench for just a season and a half, first with Parma in Italy’s second division and then, victoriously, with Leicester in the Championship last season. But the Italian, who honed his coaching skills under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, will have no doubts about the longevity of the club he plays for of late.
Maresca has already had to answer questions about Enzo Fernandez’s condemnation chant while he was in Argentina. Willing to insist that the matter had been resolved, Captain Reece James – having agreed in the first place with that sentiment – later admitted that “it could be a problem” when Fernandez joins the group.
James arrived in the center of the field as part of Maresca’s innovations, but his prestige as captain was also a problem for the new coach. So far, Maresca has only committed to saying that the right-back will be “one of the captains,” although his decision to forget fellow defender and academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah of the traveling team has been criticized by some of the base. of fans. The issue of Chalobah’s absence, with him likely being sold to the chase, has only been highlighted further. through the defense presented by Chelsea in their friendlies so far.
Another factor in defence is the goalkeeper, where the signing of Filip Jorgensen suggests Chelsea could do without the concept of Robert Sanchez (signed last summer for £25m) as number one, with Djordje Petrovic replacing Sanchez in the second half of the season. Also seeing his long career as he misses the excursion due to injury.
Jorgensen is Maresca’s new number seven and, if you add to that all the remodeling of the club’s youth academy, with the departures of veteran executives Neil Bath and Jim Fraser, and the imminent departure of one of the most prominent graduates. That formula of recent years, Conor Gallagher, uncertainty about the direction Chelsea is taking turns out to be the topic of the season.
Oddly enough, the device’s computer wasn’t nice.
Maresca’s goal in the Premier League couldn’t be much more difficult, as Chelsea faced Man City again on the opening weekend. Maresca himself admitted City didn’t have “six or seven” starters for the 4-2 win in this weekend’s friendly. Chelsea will face a much more difficult edition of the Champions League live on Sky Sports on August 18.
In fact, of the groups expected to boost the Champions League, only Arsenal are experiencing (slightly) a tougher first six games than Les Bleus, in last season’s league finishing positions.
A back-to-back run for Liverpool, Newcastle, Man Utd and Arsenal after October’s foreign break looks grueling.
At Leicester, Maresca took off, winning thirteen of his first 14 league games. He will most likely find the game much more difficult next season.
Following the defeat to City, Maresca is keen to talk about his team’s ownership statistics and the disruption they caused Guardiola’s team when they had the ball. It was also the fourth game of the trip in which Chelsea had more shots than their rival.
Christopher Nkunku has scored in each of the first three games, an incentive considering the injuries he suffered last season, Romeo Lavia is on his way to top form, while Barcelona acquisition Marc Guiu turned heads.
But with Real Madrid and Inter Milan still to come, Maresca hopes to calm the naysayers before opposition to Guardiola’s starters begins in earnest.
Until then, looks will be inevitable.
July 25: Chelsea 2-2 Wrexham
July 27: Chelsea 1-4 Celtic
August 1: Chelsea 3-0 Club America
3 August: Chelsea 2-4 Man City
August 7: Chelsea vs Real Madrid – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, kick-off at 12 p. m.
August 11: Chelsea vs Inter Milan – Stamford Bridge, p. m. kick-off
18 August: Chelsea vs Man City – kick-off 16:30 – on Sky Sports
August 25: Wolves vs Chelsea – kick-off at 2 p. m.
1 September: Chelsea vs Crystal Palace – kick-off at 13:30 CET.
September 14: Bournemouth vs Chelsea – kick-off at 8 p. m. – on Sky Sports
September 21: West Ham vs Chelsea – kick-off at 12:30 p. m.
September 28: Chelsea vs Brighton – p. m. kickoff
October 5: Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest – kick-off at 3pm
October 19: Liverpool vs Chelsea – kick-off p. m.
October 26: Chelsea vs Newcastle – kick-off at 3:00 p. m.
November 2: Man Utd vs Chelsea – kick-off at 3pm
November 9: Chelsea vs Arsenal – kick-off at 15:00
November 23: Leicester vs Chelsea – kick-off at 3:00 p. m.