If you were to ask 10 Chelsea supporters what they think of Enzo Maresca, it is likely five of them would tell you he is doing a decent job and the other five would say the opposite. That is the way of football - and at a club like Chelsea, the standards are set very high.
Maresca has his Blues side sitting in fourth-place in the Premier League table with nine games left to play of the 2024/25 season - his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge. They are four points adrift of third-placed Nottingham Forest and a single point above Manchester City. Then Newcastle United are in sixth-place, two points below Chelsea, with fifth looking as if it will be enough to secure Champions League football for the 2025/26 campaign.
Either way, it is in Chelsea's hands as they bid to get back into Europe's elite competition. At one point, though, the Blues were keeping tabs with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table. Maresca continued to dismiss his side's chances of winning the title and ultimately has been proven right.
There has been a big dip in form since the turn of the year for Chelsea. In 2025, the west Londoners have recorded just four victories in the Premier League - and they have all come at Stamford Bridge. The Blues' last win on the road was way back on December 8, when they beat Tottenham in a seven-goal thriller in north London, and since that chilly Sunday afternoon, there have been five league defeats away from home for Maresca and his players.
Some of those matches saw Chelsea create numerous opportunities, with the defeat at Villa Park over a month ago coming to mind, but end up with just one goal. The source of these goalscoring chances has not been the issue, but finishing them off has been more of the problem.
Only Liverpool have a higher Expected Goals (xG) total than Chelsea in the 29 Premier League matches that have been played so far. The Reds, who are top of the table at the moment, have a 71.81xG, while the Blues sit second in that particular category with 59.76 and Manchester City in third with 57.02, as per @xGPhilosophy on social media website X.
Despite the Blues being second to do with the quality of chances they have created this term, they are joint-third when it comes to the goals scored column in the Premier League. Liverpool lead the way (69), then it is Man City and Tottenham (55), with Chelsea and Arsenal both being on 53.
There is no doubt Chelsea have felt the absence of Nicolas Jackson since the 23-year-old striker suffered a hamstring injury at the beginning of last month. Jackson is due back after the ongoing international break after missing five Premier League matches due to the muscular problem. While this will not solve all of the Blues' problems in front of goal, it will certainly give Maresca a large boost for the final nine league games of the campaign.
The striker situation is set to be addressed over the summer transfer window with Chelsea prioritising signing a top-class No.9, football.london understands. The names that have been mentioned thus far are Viktor Gyokeres, Victor Osimhen, Liam Delap and Benjamin Sesko, but there could well be more players the Blues are keeping a close eye on for the summer.
Whoever they do sign, Chelsea need to get this one right. Many believe a deadly striker is one of the key differences between the Blues and those above them at the moment. Maresca's system is getting Chelsea chances in front of goal, now it is up to the club to provide the head coach with the perfect man to finish the opportunities.