An otherwise inconsequential incident in Chelsea’s final pre-season friendly against Inter last Sunday gave Enzo Maresca hope that what may appear like a random collection of 43 footballers are developing into a team. Levi Colwill was kicked and wrestled to the ground by Inter’s veteran centre-back Francesco Acerbi and all hell broke loose, with most of Chelsea’s players piling in to support their teammate and surround the referee, Sam Barrott.
It was not quite the “Battle of the Bridge”, that violent clash between Chelsea and Tottenham eight years ago that produced 12 bookings and £600,000 in fines from the Football Association, but for Maresca it was an encouraging sign that his emerging group are prepared to fight for each other.
“This is the right culture,” he said as he prepared for his first competitive game in charge of Chelsea against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon. “I try to defend my teammates if there is a bad intention. In one of the friendlies, one of the opponents kicked in a bad way one of our players, and the rest of our players was around our player to defend him. It doesn’t mean that I go there to start, but I go close and I defend my teammate.
“To become a team you need that. You need more to be close, more like friends. Inside the pitch you need to defend yourselves like brothers, otherwise you struggle. It’s not just: ‘OK, we are good players, it’s enough.’ It’s not enough.”
Maresca’s attempts at team building have been hindered in the short term by Chelsea’s innovative approach to player recruitment under the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital regime, which has drawn sarcastic comparisons to the trolley dash in the 1990’s game show Supermarket Sweep. Nine players have been signed during another busy summer – with Maresca still keen to add another forward in either João Félix or Victor Osimhen – taking the overall size of Chelsea’s squad to 53 if players on loan are included.
Chelsea insist the club are pursuing a data-led approach that will yield results and by targeting young players they have significantly reduced their wage bill to an average of about £70,000 a week, although real success will only follow if on-field performances improve. This is where Maresca comes in, with the Italian making a strong impression on club staff with his clear-minded decisiveness.
Whereas his predecessors Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino attempted to keep his squad happy, Maresca has been ruthless, forcing players the club want to sell such as Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Armando Broja and Romelu Lukaku to train on their own. Ben Chilwell has been permitted to train with the squad, but the vice-captain received a very public reminder of his place in the pecking order on Friday when Maresca confirmed it would be better for the England left-back to look for a new club as his playing time will be limited.
Marc Cucurella will be preferred to Chilwell against City, Malo Gusto will start at right-back as Reece James has a hamstring injury, while Colwill is set to be partnered by Wesley Fofana in the centre of defence. Roméo Lavia and Enzo Fernández emerged in pre-season as Maresca’s favoured central midfield but, given his myriad options and the players’ flexibility, Chelsea’s attacking lineup is hard to predict. Noni Madueke, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku and new £54m signing Pedro Neto are all in contention, with Cole Palmer the only certainty to start.
With Gallagher and Chilwell in effect frozen out, Maresca has been left with an inexperienced squad, although this may suit a hands-on coach who, like the mentor he faces on Sundaytoday, Pep Guardiola, likes to walk and talk his players through every phase of play. “I like the age,” Maresca said. “The important thing is they are full of talent. But talent is not enough and we need something more. This is the reason we are trying to create some culture, not only on the pitch but also outside the pitch.”
At the age of 22 and after one season of regular Premier League football, Palmer already appears Chelsea’s most important player, although Maresca accepts he cannot be expected to shoulder the side’s creative and goalscoring burden alone. After an extraordinary breakthrough campaign that brought 27 goals and 15 assists in all competitions, Maresca fears Palmer may find this season more difficult.
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“When you score 20 goals one season it’s always difficult to replicate, whether you are Cole Palmer or even [Erling] Haaland,” he said. “It’s difficult. With Palmer we have to make sure we share the responsibility for goals with the other wingers and attacking midfield players. It’s not everything on Cole’s shoulders.
“We play with two wingers, two attacking players and a No 9. So these five players are the ones in charge of scoring goals and assisting their teammates. The wingers, the attacking players and the number nine are in charge of scoring goals.”
The equivalent fixture last November featured eight goals and was one of the games of the season, which Maresca enjoyed watching from his home near Leicester, although he would prefer not to witness a similar spectacle on Sunday. “I was watching at home and it was fantastic, although as a manager I don’t like conceding goals,” he said. “I don’t want to concede four.”