Maresca's Relentless Rotation Has Chelsea Off Balance.
While The London club didn’t completely torpedo their chances of finishing in the highest eight places of the continental tournament group stage, they executed a precise, surgical strike on their own hopes of automatically qualifying for the round of 16. Of course, the good news is that in the short one-year history of the new and not-necessarily-improved tournament, securing a top-eight finish may not be as crucial as it seems.
The Central Concern: A Monotonous Lack of Consistency
Sadly for the club's supporters, the only consistent thing about Enzo Maresca’s side is a reliably erratic lack of consistency, which has been much remarked upon following their defeat in Bergamo. After apparently rubber-stamping their quality with an impressive beat-down of a European giant, and then a feisty stalemate with Arsenal, Chelsea have been stuffed by a Championship side, played out a dull draw at Bournemouth and have now lost against a average team from Serie A.
While pundits have been eager to point the finger on a team selection approach that appears to see the coach rotate his team constantly, the Chelsea head coach insists that, knack and naughty step permitting, the nucleus of his starting lineup for big matches is mostly fixed.
“In my view tonight, starting team, we had on the field eight, nine players that play against Tottenham, they played against Barca, they played against Wolves, the Gunners,” he droned. “We had most of the regulars that are the ones playing every time for matches of this magnitude. So if you look at the five changes that we did compared to previous game, it’s a different situation.”
What Comes Next
To have any realistic chance of escaping the additional knockout round, Chelsea will have to be victorious in their final two group games. In the first, they welcome the unexpected contenders Pafos, before heading back to Italy to face the Italian title holders, the Neapolitan side.
“We need to win both, otherwise, we will face the playoff and then progress to the following stage,” remarked Maresca, whose next appointment is a match against an Everton team whose recent consistency has propelled them to the surprising position of seventh in the domestic league.
Side Stories
Notable Comment: “You know, it’s somewhat ironic because his greatest wish was me turning pro in golf. That was his biggest dream. So when I was 10, he forced me to take up golf. So I played golf every week from when I was 10 to 13” – a star striker explained how, if his father had his preference, he could have been on the golf course rather than scoring goals in the top flight.
Fan Correspondence
“So, no wonder Wolverhampton Wanderers are in such a poor situation. As any regular reader of this email will know, the only good pre-match protests involve marching from a pub that the supporters intended to visit anyway, to the stadium that they were always going to. Just showing up 10 minutes late? That’s how long it takes fans to get to their seats anyway” – one reader.
“I see that one correspondent not only got Tuesday’s featured letter, but also a mention in a separate letter. On a night where both clubs from Sheffield once more surrendered points after leading, I am wondering: could the city be proving that the frequency of appearances in your letters section is inversely proportional to the success of anything our teams are achieving on the field?” – another fan.
