Chelsea take decision on sacking Maresca after defeats to Bayern & Brighton

Chelsea’s early-season struggles have dulled the shine of their Conference League and Club World Cup triumphs.

The Blues failed to secure a Premier League win throughout September, suffering back-to-back defeats to Manchester United and Brighton. Maresca’s men also fell to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and narrowly advanced past Lincoln in the Carabao Cup.

Behdad Eghbahli, Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart, Joe Shields, and Sam Jewell were all present for the Brighton loss.

Following the match, the group went directly to the home dressing room.

Chelsea had taken a 1-0 lead before Trevoh Chalobah’s red card shifted momentum, allowing Brighton to score three times—twice through Danny Welbeck and once via Maxim De Cuyper.

As with the United game, Maresca faced scrutiny over his tactical approach after going down to 10 men.

Despite external speculation, Chelsea’s leadership remains calm and confident that their ambitions of a top-four finish and cup success are still attainable.

Since late February, Chelsea have only suffered four league defeats.

After the Brighton match, Maresca addressed the presence of Eghbali and the sporting directors. They have been inside the changing room like always,” he said.

“We have an office inside the changing room where after every game we sit and talk about the game, but they didn’t say nothing to the players, it was nothing, completely different compared to the rest of the team.”

Maresca also delivered a pointed message to his squad. They cannot keep shooting themselves in the foot.

“The message that we just said inside has been quite clear: against any team in the Premier League you cannot continue to give away presents, because what we are doing in this moment is to give away presents in terms of red cards, that is a big mistake because the game completely changed,” he said in his press conference.

“For sure we need to learn, and we need to learn quick, so the reason why it can be a mix of experience or a mix of simple mistakes, then in terms of injury,” he added. “I think that if you just watch first-half today, you don’t think about the injured players.

“Because first-half again we were in control, dominating the game, and then, again, I would like to tell you something different, but at the end it’s the reality of the last two games, unfortunately with two red cards everything changed.”

Chelsea’s next challenge sees them welcome fan-favourite Jose Mourinho, now managing Benfica, to Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese tactician has spoken highly of Maresca’s work.

“Maresca arrived and step by step, the puzzle was made,” Mourinho said. “Even the Conference League is a fantastic competition for a team like that to win.

“It gives you that first cup and the philosophy and the culture of the club for winning. If you cannot win the Premier League you win something, so they won the Conference League. Then they go to the States and come back with the big badge on the chest so now they have a good, good team.”