Enzo Maresca is treading a fine line at Stamford Bridge. The parallels to Maurizio Sarri's only season in charge continue to grow, and that is not a real positive.
Although Chelsea finished third that year and took home a European trophy, the relationship with the head coach, which never truly formed, was totally fractured by the end. Not even beating Arsenal 4-1 in Baku to lift the Europa League was enough to patch things up.
In the end, it was Sarri who walked. He didn't feel the love and Chelsea fans weren't willing to give him it. There are more than a few similarities between Maresca and Sarri, their nationality notwithstanding.
Sarri was different to a lot of other Chelsea managers under Roman Abramovich and his stylistic and ideological methods of football management did not go down well with supporters. By midway through his 2018/19 campaign he was being booed off the field and chants of 'f*** Sarriball' were heard ringing around Stamford Bridge.
Maresca is not at that stage of open revolt but he is on course to have a Sarri-lite season and the atmosphere is not improving. Instead of coming third, Chelsea are more likely to be fourth or fifth. Both would mean Champions League qualification and therefore the ultimate goal would have been met.
In place of the Europa League it is the Conference League which provides a weekly source of confidence-boosting fun (mainly), with rotated teams and youngsters being used. For Callum Hudson-Odoi, see Tyrique George. The Eden Hazard-Cole Palmer comparisons live on as well.
Sarri was reliant on Hazard to spark a team that lost any sense of joy, fluidity, or flair. The passing sequences and patience on display were not to the tune of home crowd expectations. The January arrival of Gonzalo Higuain as a cult leader for Sarri, alongside the arrival of Jorginho as a flag-waver for the disciplined and principled possession play, did little to get those used to a strong core onside.
When the results turned - which came after 10 league matches unbeaten to start things off - Chelsea were in a constant state of near-crisis. FA Cup defeat at home to Manchester United was the clearest sign of pent-up anger as Sarri was hounded from all sides for a defensive substitution when 2-0 down. Chelsea crawled over the line to a pretty successful year, all things told, but after the 4-0 defeat to Bournemouth in January, things were never quite the same.
Hazard bailed Chelsea out time and again. Now it is Palmer as the central figure for Maresca but his poor run of form has coincided with wider struggles on the pitch. Even during recent victories - it is now three in a row in all competitions after a narrow 1-0 against Championship-bound Leicester City - there has been more reason for concern than optimism.
Chelsea fans, hurt and wounded by a terrible three-month stretch from mid-December to early March, have not enjoyed watching their team of late. Going back to the 3-1 win over Wolves in January - one of four home league victories in a row - there has been angst and annoyance spreading.
On paper, two clean sheets, three wins, a European first-leg away victory, and taking points when their rivals have dropped them is good. That is not the overriding feeling, though.
None of the wins have completely settled the ship. Against West Ham, going back to February 3, Chelsea went 1-0 down and played a passive, slow, uniformed first-half. It took until the 60th minute for matters to change and there was a sense of relief rather than jubilation come the end.
Enzo Maresca celebrates
Enzo Maresca celebrates after his Chelsea team beat Leicester City 1-0 at Stamford Bridge (Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport)
For 20 minutes at home to Southampton, possibly about to become the worst Premier League team ever, there was just as much nervous energy and outward frustration. Jeers were widespread when Filip Jorgensen took his time on the ball, reflecting more dissatisfaction with the coach's demands than the goalkeeper himself. The fact that tensions build so quickly these days says it all.
Chelsea have become less and less exciting to watch as the season has gone on. They overcame Southampton in the end and did it comfortably. 4-0 was not an unfair scoreline and they left SW6 with a spring in their step but it did not fool anyone.
Thursday night's laboured 2-1 win over FC Copenhagen was nearly the ideal result even if it did verge on putting people to sleep with monotonous sideways passing and no penetration. The late scramble to get across the line was a sign of a young team experiencing knockout football of this manner for the first time. Not even the weaker opposition was enough to mask the holes in this current setup.
The caveat is that Chelsea are without their main striker and have injury issues. In the Conference League and against the 20th, 19th, 17th, and 16th placed teams in England that is not much of an excuse.
The Leicester performance once more exposed a side to Chelsea which is grating on spectators. 0.30xG from open play in the first half despite holding nearly 70 per cent of the ball is not enough.
Chelsea did limit their visitors but made life hard for themselves and harder for the fans as they showed minimal penetration and were left to turn to a back-five to secure three points. Winning is a good habit to get into but the murmurs of discontent are growing and are no longer limited to when the team is dropping points.
Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca during Chelsea vs Leicester City (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Maresca is asking more from Chelsea fans and of Stamford Bridge during this period. He wants energy and patience. "The people have to understand this is our way, our style and this is the way we are going to play," he said afterwards. "When a team creates the amount of chances we created today, you have to be happy. It's not easy."
Chelsea only really started to break through once they were ahead, though. Marc Cucurella's 0.02xG effort was hardly the route Maresca was looking for, a left-back scoring from outside the box is not a sustainable source of goals. Reece James' opener against Copenhagen was just as classy in execution but limited in repeatability.
Some will say that when the chips are down and the battle for the top four/five is on, this does not matter. It will for those who have continuing doubts over their manager's style of play, just like it did with Sarri.
Maresca turned to the East Stand in defiance and to prove a point after Cucurella's goal. He had been subjected to loud shouts from one individual throughout the match up to that point. The fist pumps and celebrations after the match were also pointed and noticeable.
Picking now as the latest time to start this mini-fight with his own supporters is a bold move. He does not have the trust and wholehearted backing that he did earlier this season and many are left unconvinced.
Whether or not Maresca has the same expectations as Sarri or not is largely irrelevant. Chelsea had finished fifth under Antonio Conte the year before Sarri came in, putting up a meek title defence. The appointment did not come until late in the summer and progress was always stunted.
Maresca, meanwhile, is building from a lower base of sixth with Mauricio Pochettino last term. His squad is not formed on the foundations of league winners either. The average age is markedly lower this season as well.
Where Sarri does leave a message of caution for Maresca is that his biggest issue wasn't just with results. His football did not inspire confidence or positivity. Lacking both - as Maresca has done for much of the past few months - is a recipe for disaster, no matter where the blame lies, with many fingers pointed at those above him for squad building.
For now, Chelsea need the results to continue. They are three down from a run of four heading into Arsenal next weekend that needed to be won. Take something from the Emirates Stadium, continue to show the fight and doggedness which has gotten them over the line in this fortnight, and maybe the goodwill starts to return.
Until then, Maresca plays a risky game in asking untrusting supporters to be better. It historically does not work at Chelsea and there are no signs of that changing anytime soon.
Join the football.london Chelsea WhatsApp community
Cole Palmer of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team's second goal from the penalty spot with team mate Jadon Sancho during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Stamford Bridge on September 28, 2024
Sign up to our Chelsea WhatsApp service and get all the latest breaking news and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Chelsea writers direct to your phone.
By signing up to this free service you will be the first to know the news from Stamford Bridge as it happens.
To join our Chelsea community, all you have to do is click this link to join and you're in!