Enzo Maresca ‘concerned’ as Chelsea’s winless run stretches to five games
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Chelsea captain Reece James celebrates scoring their second goal with Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca expressed his concern at the Blues’ reaction to conceding in a 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth, as their winless English Premier League run stretched to five games on Jan 14.
Maresca’s men looked destined to end that slump with a dominant first-half display at Stamford Bridge. But Cole Palmer’s cool finish for his 14th league goal of the season was all the home side had to show for it at the break.
Bournemouth bounced back in the second half as Justin Kluivert levelled from the penalty spot before Antoine Semenyo blasted in at the near post to put the Cherries in front.
Chelsea captain Reece James then came off the bench to salvage a point in stoppage time with a fine free kick.
The Blues could now drop out of the Premier League top four should in-form Newcastle United beat Wolverhampton Wanderers on Jan 15.
“I think we deserved much more, especially in the first half,” said Maresca.
“And the negative thing is that we changed how we played after conceding the penalty. We dropped back.
“The game was completely in our control and it’s something we need to improve.
“I have concerns always, even when we are winning matches. This is the Premier League, when you don’t create chances and don’t score, then you have to be more concerned.”
There was a moment of controversy when referee Robert Jones was called to the monitor to decide whether David Brooks should be sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair, but he showed a yellow card, which prompted howls of protest from the home fans.
If Bournemouth went down to 10 men, the score could have been different.
Eventually, James saved the day for Chelsea.
The defender has suffered another injury-plagued season that has restricted him to just four starts in all competitions. And he revelled in a moment to savour in stoppage time after such a long time on the sidelines.
“There was a period where I was scoring quite frequently and I haven’t had that feeling for quite a long time,” said James, a product of the Chelsea academy.
However, he echoed Maresca’s words on the team needing to be more ruthless to reach their target of a return to Champions League football next season.
“I think we had a few clear-cut chances that we should have taken in the first half and put the game to bed,” he added.
“It’s across football globally. If you have chances and you don’t take them, then it can come back and hurt you.” AFP, REUTERS
