Hopefully, Enzo Maresca will be heading back to the hotel with a feeling of regret after a woeful second-half display from Chelsea against Atalanta.
The tie slipped out of reach after the interval, with the home side looking vastly superior in all facets of the game.
Maresca had to make a couple of reactive substitutions, with Trevoh Chalobah looking leggy and on a yellow at half-time and his replacement, Wesley Fofana, going down after being hit in the eye.
But the ones that were planned didn’t seem very well planned at all — especially considering Chelsea ended up needing a goal.
Estevao Willian was left on the bench, and Maresca has attempted to provide an explanation.
Who was your Man of the Match vs Atalanta?
Enzo Maresca says he would have liked to bring on Estevao
Chelsea fans called Maresca out for a dreadful decision with just over ten minutes to go.
When Fofana came off, he elected to bring on Tosin Adarabioyo. While he’s not the most popular man at Stamford Bridge right now, it was more the profile choice that rubbed people the wrong way.
After the game, Maresca was asked why Estevao wasn’t introduced.
As Football London report, he answered: “The change of Tosin was because we needed to change Wes.
“For sure, with one more change there would have been a chance for Estevao or Andrey to come on and potentially change the game.”
It’s not a nonsense explanation, but it doesn’t quite track. There were already five defenders on the pitch without Tosin, and the match was all square at 1-1. Surely, bringing some attacking threat onto the pitch would have been the right move.
It’s not the first bit of stick Maresca has gotten for substitutions over this winless run. His in-game management hasn’t been at the level we’ve grown used to.
- READ MORE: Chelsea player ratings vs Atalanta as Reece James’ Champions League masterclass goes to waste
Given the context of Chelsea’s top-eight hopes slipping away, Estevao was the obvious Hail Mary choice to try and push for a win. Instead, Atalanta got the late goal and all three points.
Chelsea break 12 year record against Atalanta
To add insult to injury for Chelsea, this loss against Atalanta snaps a streak dating back to 2013.
A 12-year run snapped by Atalanta…
Bonus points if you can tell us who was managing Chelsea the last time this happened 👀
The Blues were on a 41-game unbeaten run when leading at the break, but the Italian side came out in the second half with a different energy.
Just one more thing to be irritated about after a nightmare Champions League road trip.
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