Enzo Maresca got quite a bit of heat for Chelsea’s no-show against Leeds, and he has addressed the criticism ahead of Bournemouth.
In what felt like a return to the struggles of last year, Chelsea didn’t turn up against Leeds after putting on two of their best displays of the season the week prior.
Daniel Farke warned Chelsea not to underestimate Leeds, but it seems those words fell on deaf ears. The home side were better in every facet of the game.
And one aspect of the performance caused quite a stir amongst the fans. The Chelsea boss is holding his hands up.
Enzo Maresca regrets not playing Josh Acheampong after Chelsea’s defensive collapse
The Blues didn’t offer much going forward, but it was the defenders who caused the biggest issues.
Chelsea fans were furious with Maresca for starting Tosin Adarabioyo, who gifted Leeds the settling goal. As a whole, the back line he chose just didn’t look convincing even before the match started, and he’s accepting the blame.
Football London reported on the pre-Bournemouth press conference, where he said: “One of the regrets I have after the game is I didn’t play with Josh [Acheampong].
“So the reason why we played with Trev [Chalobah], Tosin and Benoit [Badiashile] is because, analysing them, we saw that most of the time they were playing long ball for Calvert-Lewin, for Nmecha. And so we prefer physicality to win aerial duels. But even with that, we lost most of them.”
- READ MORE: Chelsea already have three players who can replace Tosin Adarabioyo permanently after Leeds shocker
The tactical thinking around his lineup decision is sound. It’s the personnel that he got wrong.
If Maresca wants more size and a focus on defence at right-back, Acheampong has proved himself in that role. Trevoh Chalobah should be kept in the middle and Tosin should probably be left on the bench.
Was Tosin Adarabioyo’s mistake against Leeds worse than Edouard Mendy’s?
Maresca surprised by the performance against Leeds
Like all of us, Maresca didn’t expect his side to struggle that much at Elland Road, especially considering Chelsea’s form.
He remarks: “I was very surprised about the performance, no doubt, because I expect more in general, in all the aspects. But also, again, when we prepared the game, we analysed all the small details.
“We were aware about the Arsenal game, to play with 10 players for one hour, making some rotation because we need to protect players. So we were ready that, probably in some moments, we would struggle, but not for the entire game.”
Maresca has explanations for the loss, but that’s not what fans will want to hear right now. The first quote was better, admitting he got some decisions wrong.
It’s all in the rearview mirror now, though, with a swift return to Premier League action on Saturday.
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