“If you want to be up there you need the consistency.”
Enzo Maresca delivered a frank assessment following Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Sunderland. Chemsdine Talbi’s injury time strike was enough to secure all the spoils at Stamford Bridge. Everything started well enough for the Blues. Alejandro Garnacho scored his first Chelsea goal to put the capital side ahead in the fourth minute.
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Whether down to inexperience or otherwise, Chelsea failed to add a second and kill the game off. Wilson Isidor halved the deficit midway through the first half before Talbi’s late goal. A four-game winning run abruptly ended.
The Black Cats may be rank amateurs at this level owing to an eight-year top-flight absence. Yet inexperience is proving costly for the Blues. Indeed, Maresca is yet to field a player aged 30 or over in a matchday squad this season. At this level, this trait is ruthlessly exploited.
Inexperience holding Chelsea back
Chelsea have committed five errors leading to an opposition goal in all competitions this season. They’ve committed 15 leading to a shot. No player has committed more errors leading to a Premier League shot than youngster Josh Acheampong (4) this season. Experience is a key quality in the Premier League. Some of the mistakes they have made would have been cut out should Maresca utilised an elder statesman or two.
This inexperience will have also played a part in ill-discipline. Chelsea have received 18 yellow cards in the Premier League this season, the fourth most in the division. In addition, Chelsea have had a player sent off three times. The rest of the league combined have received seven red cards.
Two of those three dismissals also came at crunch times in key matches. Against Manchester United, Robert Sanchez was dismissed with just five minutes on the clock. Immediately, the Blues were on the backfoot. Chelsea were in a commanding position against Brighton last month before Trevoh Chalobah was red carded. They’d go on to lose 3-1.
Malo Gusto’s late red at Nottingham Forest earlier this month didn’t impact the result. However, it came about from a mistimed lunge. “It’s something that we can do better, but I’m not concerned,” Maresca said following Chelsea’s win at the City Ground. Even so, it was a moment of madness that has previously cost Chelsea, and will do so again.
Lack of adaptability weighing against Maresca
Their failure to make home dominance count also proved costly against Sunderland. Chelsea enjoyed 68.4% possession in west London and seven shots on target to the Black Cats’ four. The failure to put the game to bed was decisive and means the Blues have let slip eight points from winning positions.
Maresca’s love affair with a 4-2-3-1 is also proving a hindrance. Managers have their preferred way of playing but in the Premier League, you need to show adaptability. The Italian, though, seems wedded to the formation. By comparison, opposite number Regis Le Bris reverted to a five-man backline on Saturday. It was the first time Sunderland adopted the setup this season.
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Yet the system worked perfectly. They didn’t see much of the ball but Sunderland still had chances, managing 10 shots to Chelsea’s 16. You wouldn’t see this sort of flexibility from Maresca. Out of ideas, the Blues attempted 29 crosses against Sunderland, their joint-most in a league game this season.
Injuries holding the Blues back
To Maresca’s credit, he’s working with an injury hit squad. Chelsea’s Club World Cup success came at a cost. A lack of a full pre-season means players were rushed back a little quicker. Maresca lost Levi Colwill to a season-ending ACL injury shortly before the campaign started. Cole Palmer has been restricted to just two league starts this season.
The pair were vital for Chelsea last season, Colwill owing to his build up play and Palmer because of his goals. Any side robbed of their starting centre-back and goalscorer would be hit hard. Factor in absences to Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Tosin and Wesley Fofana at one stage or another, and the overall strength in depth has been hampered. Maresca has, after all, fielded six different centre-backs this season.
The lack of consistency that Maresca alluded to, then, does largely stem from absences to key men. An inconsistent squad selection means the current crop are unable to build up rhythm without the knowledge they’ll know who they are playing alongside in any given game.
That being said, Maresca doesn’t help himself due to a lack of backup plan. If the 4-2-3-1 setup doesn’t work, then the Italian doesn’t seem willing to tinker for the good of the team. The current predicament Chelsea find themselves in isn’t all his own doing but a little more tactical flexibility would to some way to rectifying the club’s inconsistency.