Frank Leboeuf has not held back with his criticism of Enzo Maresca following Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal over the weekend.
Chelsea only lost 1-0 and dominated large parts of the game at the Emirates. Maresca wanted Chelsea to control possession, and the Blues did just that.
Maresca‘s men finished the London derby with almost 60% ball possession after a dominant second-half performance.
However, all of that possession did not amount to anything, leaving Leboeuf extremely frustrated.
Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
Leboeuf was quite positive after Chelsea’s previous Premier League game, which was a 1-0 win against Leicester City.
Following that fixture, Leboeuf praised Marc Cucurella, describing him as his “idol” after criticising the defender in the past.
However, the Chelsea legend was not too kind with his words after the Arsenal match, slamming Maresca for the way he has his former side playing. Instead, he thinks the Blues need to be more like Liverpool.
Speaking on ESPN FC, Leboeuf said: “We don’t see a reaction from Mr Maresca. I’m very disappointed. He found a way to make Chelsea be attractive, I think results before December. Since December, he came back to where he wanted to go in the pre-season, keeping the ball. They completed 441 passes today for half of a chance of shooting.
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“We love Newcastle, we have to give credit to Newcastle. We love Liverpool. Why? They go forward, they go vertical, they don’t keep the ball, they don’t try to play horizontal, they don’t try to play tiki-taka, which is the most boring game ever if you don’t create at the end.”
Maresca was quick to apologise to Chelsea fans after the full-time whistle at the Emirates, acknowledging that it was a game that they would have been desperate to win
After the international break, Chelsea have another London derby, taking on Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.
Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Enzo Maresca made terrible decision at the Emirates
When Chelsea fans saw Robert Sanchez’s name on the teamsheet, they would not have been happy with Maresca.
Sanchez has not been reliable this season, making a series of errors between the sticks. But starting him against Arsenal was not even the worst decision that Maresca made.
The Chelsea manager had both Reece James and Malo Gusto fit, yet still decided to use Wesley Fofana at right-back, an experiment that failed miserably.
Fofana was booked during the game and could have easily been sent off on another day. He offered zero attacking threat and ultimately did not have the best match in his career. Maresca certainly deserves some criticism following his side’s latest loss.