BBC reported that Chelsea's glory in the Club World Cup has become a distant memory, and the atmosphere around coach Maresca seems to have also changed.
On Saturday, in Stamford Bridge's match against Brighton, the Blues were reversed by their opponents for two consecutive games and eventually lost 1-3, with some boos from the audience.
Maresca was the strongest when Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League, the Champions League qualification and the Club World Cup. But some of his comments in recent weeks have clearly discontented the club's top leaders. After losing to Brighton, five senior executives, namely United Sports Director Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart, recruitment directors Sam Jewell and Joe Shields, and co-owner Bechdard Egbaly entered the locker room.
However, Maresca quickly stated that this was the norm: "They always go into the locker room, we have an office, and after each game they sit down to discuss the game."
BBC Sports learned that Chelsea set the goal for Maresca to qualify for the Champions League this season and plans to evaluate it at the end of the season. However, with only 8 points in six games and two consecutive league losses, Maresca must know that the pressure is increasing.
BBC Game of Day commentator Alan Shearer said: "As Chelsea coach, once you accept this position, you know that if you lose, you will face pressure, and now they have lost two games. This is part of the management, especially at Chelsea. You can't lose, but they have lost two games now, so you should understand the current situation."
Maresca seems to have made several public criticisms of Chelsea executives recently. His first criticism happened in mid-August and involved defensive choices. Maresca hopes to find a replacement for injured defender Levi Colville, who will miss most of the season with a knee injury. Chelsea told him to use other options, including Charoba, Wesley Forfana, Benoit Badiasheller, young player Josh Achimpon and new player Yorell Hato.
Maresca told the media: "The club is completely clear about my thoughts." He explained that other options, except for the possible injury Tosin Adarabioyu, could not play a role in possession like Colville. When asked if he needed to sign a defender, he replied: "Do you like talking about centre-backs? I've talked about it. Thank you very much."
Instead, Chelsea signed Manchester United winger Garnacho for £40 million, but he only came off the bench in one league game. Forward Mark Gyu has not appeared since Drapp recalled from Sunderland due to a hamstring injury, and the highly praised youth training product Achimpen has rarely been called up.
At the pre-League Cup press conference against Lincoln City this week, Maresca said of Liverpool: "If they continue to perform like this, I think it's hard not only for us, but for all clubs, to catch up. They've been doing a great job since last year, and the players they decided to buy show the club's intention to compete for the Premier League and the Champions League again, which is very clear."
This contrasts with his comments after losing to Brighton, when he suggested that the team's lack of experience led to costly turnovers. He also said the decision to recall guard Axel DiSassi, who was excluded from the first team, was outside his control, saying "the club did not mention anything, so there was no news."
Maresca also faces multiple injuries, with four of his main centre-backs and star attacker Cole Palmer also added to the injury list. It all paints a turbulent picture of the club as they prepare for the mid-week Champions League match against Benfica before facing defending champion Liverpool next Saturday.
source:7m cn bóng đá