Chelsea Coach Enzo Maresca insisted that speculation about his future will not distract his squad before facing Newcastle – but it wasn’t like that for 45 minutes on Saturday.
Even before kick-off, Maresca appeared to question Chelsea’s focus on only buying youngsters, suggesting that having more experienced players is “invaluable”.
The Blues then failed to advance at St James’ Park, a ground they had lost at 15 times in the Premier League era, and found themselves 2-0 down thanks to a pair of first-half goals from striker Nick Woltemade.
The first half was so poor that Chelsea conceded an expected goals figure of 1.97, the worst in the first 45 minutes in more than two years. They were prone to errors in defense, squandered possession, struggled and failed to register a shot on goal.
The lack of performance was astonishing given that Chelsea had put in a successful performance in beating Everton at home last weekend. That form became more evident after the break when they roared back with a spectacular 25-yard free kick from Reece James and a brilliant individual goal from Joao Pedro.
Despite Chelsea’s improvement, they were still reliant on a key decision that went their way as Newcastle controversially saw penalty calls rejected moments before Pedro’s equalizer when Trevoh Chalobah collided with Anthony Gordon in the area.
At times it seemed that Maresca’s post-match comments last week, in which he said that “many people” had caused his “worst 48 hours” since joining the club, were still impacting the players.
Since those comments, the Italian had been linked with Manchester City (speculation he described as “100 percent” unfounded) and his relationship with the hierarchy was continually questioned.
He also offered some thoughts on his team’s makeup ahead of the match, suggesting he could use a little more experience.
Earlier in the week, he said: “I love the team, I love the young players” and before kick-off he told TNT: “I’m very happy. I just focus on what I can control – the side of the field – knowing that there is always noise that you have to manage.”
However, he later added: “When you have kids of 20 and 21 years old and a player of 30 or 31, and he starts to tell them something, it is invaluable. But it is the club’s strategy.”
Was this another example of Maresca lowering expectations and highlighting how much of the project was under its control?
He was also fighting for the players, even earning a yellow card for dissent in the second half, as they pulled off a creditable comeback.
This was only the fourth time in the Premier League that Chelsea have avoided defeat after being two or more goals down at half-time. In the end, both teams had a chance to win in an entertaining ending to the game.
However, even though Maresca showed his commitment, it remains an open question whether this ongoing power struggle could affect Chelsea’s players in the future.
