OPINION: Maresca has been the perfect architect for Chelesa's towering project
Forget Palmer and Madueke. Maresca is the man you should praise.
LONDON — It seems strange to think of a Chelsea that was once battling with Crystal Palace, Wolves, and West Ham for 12th place in the Premier League. The 2024 team in the hunt for their first league title since 2016 seems like a whole different entity than the squad Graham Potter had the misfortune of managing. Once upon a time, Chelsea were badly misfiring. They were toothless in attack, lacking a trusty target man up top, and they fumbled seemingly guaranteed wins against bottom-three teams repeatedly.
Chelsea was also drowning in financial debt. Todd Boehly spent nearly $700 million on player transfers when he bought out the club from Roman Abramovich, including $70 million on Mykhaylo Mudryk, $56 million on Raheem Sterling, and $42 million for Kalidou Koulibaly, all players who have underperformed in Chelsea blue and are on their way out from Stamford Bridge.
Although the lavish spending from Clearlake Capital hasn’t stopped — Boehly completed big signings of Moises Caicedo, Pedro Neto, and Joao Felix within the past two seasons — the results have completely changed. Cole Palmer, who led the league in goals last season, has been key in their drastic turnaround in results. So have key attackers Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson. But the man who has definitively left his brand of football on Chelsea is their new manager Enzo Maresca.
Maresca brought a cold, calculated approach to football to Stamford Bridge. In an era of Chelsea football dominated by mismanagement and aloofness, Maresca is the high-energy leader that Chelsea has needed. Tactically, he’s a mix between De Zerbi and Magnus Carlsen — a possession-obsessed freak who values positional play and building numerical advantages through smart overlaps. Although he wasn’t the Kieran McKenna or the Thomas Frank Chelsea wanted after sacking Pochettino, Maresca has proven to be the perfect manager for Chelsea’s resurgence back into the top four.
Maresca inherited a team still struggling for identity. His predecessors Potter and Mauricio Pochettino brought an aloof, unassuming figure to the touchline; Maresca has been an impassioned leader and hands-on when making substitutions. He’s earned a bigger voice when it comes to transfers — he brought former coworker Kieran Dewsbury-Hall to London for around $36 million. He and Clearlake Capital have been ruthless in shedding loose weight, selling off club favorite Conor Gallagher, and making crucial decisions to sell Ian Maatsen, Romelu Lukaku, and Lewis Hall. Controlling transfers was something both Potter and Pochettino struggled with, but Maresca doesn’t have any problems yet.
Yet, his biggest change has come tactically. We’ve seen his fingerprints on big wins like 6-2 away against Wolves, 4-2 home against Brighton, and 3-0 away against West Ham. Under Maresca, Chelsea plays a quick, possession-based style that emphasizes short connections in midfield. They’ve completed over 3,500 passes in just seven league matches, over Brighton and Manchester United.
Their keys to success have been dominating the midfield, often sending a fullback to join the midfield like Rico Lewis at Man City. Caicedo playing as a deep anchor, is capable against the press and has incredible vision. When Maresca sends Marc Cucurella or Malo Gusto to cut from his position into the middle, it lets Caicedo drop deep and establishes a sturdy back three for Chelsea. Even more, it allows Chelsea to find little pockets of space, where they thrive. Enzo Fernandez, Caicedo, and Levi Colwill have established themselves as the league’s most accurate passers in Maresca’s system.
Take Nicolas Jackson’s second goal against West Ham. After idly knocking the ball about, Maresca gestures for Cucurella to cut into the middle and join Caicedo in a makeshift double pivot. When Enzo Fernandez drops deep to receive a pass, he creates a number advantage in the midfield and finds the open man — Caicedo. And, as we’ve seen both at Brighton and Chelsea, you can’t leave Caicedo open without inviting trouble. With near unlimited space and time, Caicedo knocks a pinpoint through ball past a scrambling West Ham defense to a streaking Jackson, and the rest is history.
Maresca has similarly remodeled the attack. He’s gained new players like Christopher Nkunku (who missed the majority of the season through injury), Pedro Neto, and Joao Felix. His preferred front three seem to be Noni Madueke, Jackson, and Jadon Sancho, and they’ve feasted throughout the season. Jackson has boasted seven goal contributions, Sancho three, and Madueke four. They’ve been dynamic throughout the season in a way they rarely were last season.
Sancho has surprisingly been a huge improvement over Sterling. After a positive loan spell at Dortmund, it seems he’s regained his confidence. His dribble looks tighter and more controlled, he’s meshed with teammates well down the left-hand side, and he’s had three assists in four matches. Maresca’s done a great job of unlocking Sancho and giving him support to create opportunities — in previous seasons, Sancho struggled in isolation and hesitated often. His playmaking abilities look more polished than they ever were under ten Hag, and if he keeps up his form, he could play himself into a consistent starting spot.
But the most significant part of his tactics wasn’t the inverted fullbacks nor the overlaps down the left wing, but it was just letting Cole Palmer be Cole Palmer. Palmer is making a case for himself as the best player in the Premier League — if not in Europe.
Palmer wasn’t even Chelsea’s first choice when they headed to the transfer market looking for an advanced midfielder. The team wanted Palace’s Olise and West Ham’s Kudus, but after talks with both sides broke down, Chelsea “settled” on the ex-City wonderkid. He’s been magnificent for Chelsea, scoring 22 goals and adding 11 assists in his debut season, while earning multiple awards that established him as an elite attacker.
He’s somehow improved in his second season, scoring six goals and five assists in seven league matches. He became the first Premier League player to score four goals within the first half in a 4-2 romp over Brighton. He burst out for three assists and one goal in their 6-2 win over Wolves.
“Today in football, young players change very quickly. They score one goal and they think they are already [special],” Maresca grinned. “Cole scored many goals, many assists, he’s a top player but he’s never changed. He’s a special player, a simple guy, a humble guy. You can see clearly how good he is.”
A lot of Palmer’s success should be linked to Maresca pushing him down to the 10. Palmer spent a lot of time as both right-wing and striker last season, but Maresca pushing Palmer to the attacking midfield slot allowed Palmer to unveil his playmaking abilities. He combines well with his teammates, especially Madueke and Jackson. He can drop from deep and float long balls past the defensive line. Palmer links together the offense, both creating chances and finishing them.
Under Maresca, Chelsea looks more unified and dangerous than ever. They’ve not solved their offensive woes, but exponentially improved them. Maresca not only made his case as the September Manager of the Month but as one of the league’s most innovative, exciting managers. Guardiola. Arteta. Maresca. Doesn’t sound too bad to me.