Pep Guardiola asserts that he ‘likes’ the style of play Enzo Maresca is attempting to establish at Chelsea, following their 4-2 friendly loss to Manchester City in Ohio on Saturday evening.
Erling Haaland appeared in top form as he scored the opening goal from the penalty spot in the fourth minute after being fouled by Levi Colwill.
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Chelsea fell further behind a minute later when Reece James pressured Moises Caicedo into making a poor pass, which Haaland intercepted and finished past Robert Sanchez.
Maresca’s team suffered from another errant pass in the 56th minute, leading to a City attack finished by Oscar Bobb with a fine reverse strike, following Raheem Sterling’s misplaced ball.
Haaland then made it four for City after another Chelsea midfield error, this time by Malo Gusto. Haaland capitalized on the mistake, swiftly transitioning and scoring an excellent goal that left Sanchez with no chance.
Chelsea managed to pull two goals back through Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke, but concerns remain over their repeated losses this summer.
This result means Maresca’s team has only secured one win during their pre-season tour of the United States against Club America, while suffering defeats to Celtic and City, and drawing 2-2 with Wrexham.
Despite this, Guardiola remains confident that Chelsea is progressing well under Maresca, with whom he previously worked at City.
When questioned about Chelsea’s struggles with playing out from the back under Maresca during pre-season, Guardiola commented: ‘It’s happened due to the pitch conditions.
‘At Stamford Bridge, this would not happen.
‘Let me say this, I see what Enzo wants to do and I like it. And I don’t just say that because he’s my friend.’
Maresca, on his part, maintains that there are still positive aspects to take from his team’s performance against City.
‘I don’t have any doubt in terms of the progress the team is doing at the moment,’ Maresca said.
‘The mistake is part of the process. I knew City for many years, even in friendly games, they don’t concede chances or possession but in the first-half I don’t remember them making six or seven passes in a row. So that is a good thing.’
Maresca also attributed some of the errant passes during the game to the pitch conditions.
‘Sometimes when we say something it sounds like an excuse but for sure the pitch doesn’t help,’ said the Chelsea manager.
‘This type of pitch slows down the ball. In this moment, we need to learn things. We need to learn when you concede one, you cannot concede another one. When we concede one it is the moment we need to become stronger to not concede another.’
Chelsea will face City in their Premier League opener at Stamford Bridge on August 18.
