The zeitgeist of this season in the Premier League has been the long throw, of all things.
Teams from table topping Arsenal all the way down have adopted it with some success. Chelsea have fallen victim to three of them already this season, including one against tomorrow’s opposition Wolves.
Maresca on his long throw tweak which worked so well
Enzo Maresca speaks to the press about the bomb squad.
Enzo Maresca speaks to the press about the bomb squad.
In his press conference today, Enzo Maresca was asked about how he thought the defensive countermeasures he had employed against Tottenham last week had worked.
In that game, Chelsea left 3 attackers forward, forcing Spurs to leave 3 defenders back. That took 6 players out of the box, clearing space for Robert Sanchez to attack the ball. Maresca said he was happy with how it went, but cautioned that in the set piece arms race, the throwers would soon have a solution for that tactic too:
“As I said, when we were conceding goals, I guess at first it worked quite well. Hopefully, it can work also tomorrow, in case we need. But again, when you find a solution and put three players up the pitch. [the opposition will be] adapting and do something different. As I said many times, it’s like a chess game. You do something, the other one does something different. You always try to be ready.”
In other news…
Another major topic in the presser was Romeo Lavia, whose constant injury problems are affecting the whole squad, and not just him now. Maresca admitted it was becoming a problem.
Pedro Neto will have a key role to play tomorrow against his old team, if he can shrug off an injury which ruled him out in midweek. A piece talking to his old coaches revealed how they were keeping him in shape.
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Enzo Maresca speaking in his Wolves press conference.