Pundit Robbie Mustoe has explained how he thinks Enzo Maresca has made Chelsea so difficult to play against this season.
Maresca replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the summer after guiding Leicester to the Championship title last season and signed a five year deal at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have taken a gamble with the appointment but so far the big step up hasn’t appeared to be a problem for the 44-year-old, who has overseen a good start to the season.
Mustoe on Maresca tactics
The Blues currently find themselves in third place, just a point behind Manchester City in second and on track to qualify for the Champions League.
Maresca himself has admitted the Blues are ahead of his expectations at this point, and the 44-year-old has already managed to instil a clear identity and style of play which were both largely missing last season.
Chelsea’s impressive start has seen them lose just two of their first 12 games against City and Liverpool, with Maresca named Premier League manager of the month for September.
A group photo of Chelsea celebrating a goal at Leicester. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Chelsea have lost just two league games this season. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Maresca pays a lot of attention to detail with Marc Cucurella revealing the team have things to do every week to surprise their rivals.
Mustoe has praised Maresca and shared his thoughts on how he thinks the Italian has made the Blues so difficult to play against.
“He finds this way to fill the spots in the attacking areas,” he told The 2 Robbies Podcast.
“Two wide and at least a couple in the number 10 position and then a striker in the usual guy in Nicolas Jackson.
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The Chelsea logo with a flag.
Chelsea in a team huddle ahead of EFL Cup game. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images)
Pat Nevin being interviewed.
“If he keeps making these little wrinkles, it’s got to be difficult to set your team up to say well [Malo] Gusto’s going to go in there or [Moises] Caicedo’s going to play, I just think he’s a very smart coach.”
Chelsea have been difficult to beat and next up is a Conference League clash against Heidenheim on Thursday night before a huge game on Sunday against Aston Villa.