[Chelsea](https://chelseanews.com/) manager Enzo Maresca had a major off game at the helm, as the Blues dropped valuable Champions League points to one of the competition’s smallest sides in Qarabag.
Granted, Qarabag have been very impressive this seaosn and have played every team tough, but you’d like to see a club like Chelsea do a lot better than a 2-2 draw against a team with a fraction of their payroll.
Maresca didn’t help Chelsea at all, setting up the team suboptimally, which included decisions like starting Tyrique George, of all people, as the No. 9, which predictably backfired.
But Maresca also frustrated fans with his defensive selection, choosing Tosin Adarabioyo, who was poor, while leaving Josh Acheampong on the bench for this matchup.
Acheampong has been a revelation defensively for Chelsea this season and is legitimately one of the best young center backs in European football right now, even though he is technically a right back by trade.
Chelsea came into the season with weaknesses on the back line, so the promising Acheampong’s breakout was a big deal. It’s just a shame Maresca didn’t follow that up by starting Acheampong against Qarabag, and the defense was, well, dreadful without him.
Joe Soriano is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling.