‘It’s a problem’… Enzo Maresca admits he is still trying to solve issue from Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Chelsea

Add as preferred source on Google

Chelsea have given Enzo Maresca a bit of a headache following their 2-1 defeat against Real Madrid earlier.

Throughout their whole pre-season tour of the United States, Chelsea‘s defence has been leaky, and it was no different in the loss to Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

On top of the two goals the Blues conceded against Real Madrid, they have also conceded four versus Manchester City and another four versus Celtic.

After their 4-1 defeat to Celtic, Maresca admitted Chelsea’s backline was “bad” when it came to deciding when to maintain its position and when to drop deeper.

Maresca has spoken about his defence once again following Chelsea’s loss against Real Madrid.

• READ MORE: ‘I love’… Enzo Maresca says he is a massive fan of the way ‘sensational’ Chelsea man plays

Enzo Maresca on Chelsea’s defence

Chelsea conceded a lot of goals under Mauricio Pochettino last season, being breached 63 times in the Premier League.

Maresca has now described Chelsea’s high line as a “problem” and revealed that he has already spoken to the team about the amount of goals they conceded during the previous campaign.

In his latest post-match press conference following the Real Madrid game, the new Chelsea manager told football.london and other outlets: “It’s a problem we are trying to solve from pre-season, since day one. One of my first meetings with the squad was about the amount of goals we conceded last year with the defensive line very high.

“It’s something we are trying to work on. Today, offensively, we are there — the patterns are there. We created chances. The problem is defensively; when I say defensively I don’t just mean the defensive line, but in general, all the players.” Maresca has also discussed his role in transfers at Chelsea.

Enzo Maresca has to fix Chelsea’s backline quickly

Chelsea’s first game of the new Premier League season is against City, who have already put four past them this summer.

Of course, it was only a friendly, but Maresca still put quite a strong team out. That did not stop Erling Haaland from ripping through it, though.

If that defence is not sorted before August 18, then things could get really ugly for Chelsea when Pep Guardiola’s men make the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger is still affectionate about Chelsea and is probably the kind of defender the Blues have lacked recently.

Maresca has made it clear, though, that it is Chelsea’s backline as a unit that is not doing so well at the moment, rather than one or two individuals.