Chelsea sack manager Enzo Maresca after recent poor run
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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca reacting after the 2-2 English Premier League draw with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Dec 30.
PHOTO: EPA
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LONDON – Chelsea dismissed manager Enzo Maresca on Jan 1, after widespread reports that the club’s board had met to discuss his future.
The Blues are on a run of one English Premier League win in seven games and have lost 13 points at home from winning positions this season.
That sequence has seen Chelsea drop out of the top four.
“With key objectives still to play for across four competitions, including qualification for Champions League football, Enzo and the club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting the season back on track,” the club said in a statement.
The 45-year-old’s exit from Stamford Bridge after 18 months comes with the club fifth in the Premier League table after 19 matches – 15 points adrift of leaders and London rivals Arsenal.
They were as high as second in November, six points behind the Gunners after 12 games, and were among the title contenders.
Maresca’s stock at Chelsea was high after the Blues beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League in November.
But damaging defeats by Leeds United, Atalanta and Aston Villa increased the pressure on the Blues boss.
Speculation about his position increased during Chelsea’s recent poor run of results, amid reports of a worsening relationship between the coach and the club’s hierarchy.
Maresca did not attend the post-match press conference following a frantic 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Dec 30, although his absence was attributed to illness.
His decision to substitute Cole Palmer just after the hour mark during the Bournemouth game was booed by Chelsea fans.
He has stood by comments made on Dec 13, when he said many people at Chelsea were not supporting him or the team.
Maresca said the days leading up to the 2-0 victory over Everton were “the worst 48 hours” of his time at Chelsea.
He repeatedly refused to clarify the comments, although he insisted they were not an attack on the club’s supporters.
His contract had been due to run until the summer of 2029, with a club option of a further year.
The Italian, who joined from Leicester City in July 2024, led the club to the Conference League and Club World Cup titles last season.
He was the successor to current United States national coach Mauricio Pochettino.
According to Opta, under Maresca, Chelsea averaged 1.74 points per game in the Premier League.
Among managers with 30 or more league games in charge of the club in the 21st century, only Frank Lampard (1.52) and Pochettino (1.66) have a lower rate.
Under-21s head coach Calum McFarlane is expected to take charge of Jan 4’s trip to Manchester City.
Liam Rosenior – the head coach of French club Strasbourg, owned by Chelsea’s parent company BlueCo, a consortium headed by US billionaire businessman Todd Boehly – is a candidate to replace Maresca, even though the Englishman is a relatively young manager at 41 and lacks Premier League experience.
Former Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, Fulham’s Marco Silva and Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola are other potential contenders to succeed Maresca at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues travel to Manchester City in the Premier League on Jan 4, the first of nine fixtures across four competitions during a congested January schedule.
AFP, REUTERS
