Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is under pressure to turn things around amid the Blues topsy-turvy start to the season, with Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Qarabag highlighting their inconsistency
Just when their season was gathering a little momentum, Chelsea are back in the doldrums after a disappointing result against Qarabag. A 2-2 draw in Azerbaijan on Wednesday night leaves the Blues in a precarious position in the Champions League, sitting 12th in the table ahead of a daunting clash with Barcelona later this month.
Things aren't much better in the Premier League. Saturday's 1-0 win over Tottenham was thoroughly deserved, but after dropping points in five of their 10 matches so far, Enzo Maresca's side are struggling to keep pace with title-chasing Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Hoping to rest some of his weary regulars, Maresca made seven changes for the trip to Qarabag. But his rotation plans quickly unravelled. Injuries - including a blow to Romeo Lavia just eight minutes in - and a 2-1 halftime deficit forced him to turn to his key players earlier than planned.
Goals from Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho suggest Chelsea are getting stronger in wide positions, but they did little to mask an overall disjointed performance - especially against a side Chelsea demolished 10-0 on aggregate back in 2017/18.
As pressure once again mounts on Maresca's shoulders, the Italian faces a crucial task in steadying the ship before Saturday's clash with Wolves. Here, Mirror Football runs through the latest Chelsea-related headlines.
Maresca sack verdict
Despite struggling to get Chelsea firing this season, Maresca's position is not believed to be under immediate threat. The club's hierarchy continue to back the Italian, maintaining confidence that he can guide the Blues back into the top four.
Reports last month suggested Chelsea had identified Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola as a possible successor, but sources insist no formal plans to replace Maresca are being discussed at this stage.
Inside the club, there's broad recognition that injuries have played a major role in the team's stuttering form. Cole Palmer, for instance, hasn't featured since September after starting the campaign short of full fitness. Levi Colwill's absence has also been keenly felt at the back, while Liam Delap's injury left Chelsea short of options in attack.
The club's mid-summer Club World Cup campaign - which, while lucrative, disrupted pre-season preparations and deprived most of the squad of a proper break ahead of 2025/26 - is also seen as a contributing factor.
This, plus key victories over Tottenham and Liverpool, have earned Maresca some breathing room. But if Chelsea's inconsistency continues into the new year, that goodwill may not last indefinitely.
Qarabag blame pinpointed
Jorrel Hato may have conceded the penalty against Qarabag, but Maresca has pointed the finger elsewhere for Chelsea's underwhelming draw. The 45-year-old believes the club's extended summer tour of the United States has taken a toll, leaving his players short on energy, rhythm and fitness - and ultimately contributing to their sluggish start to the season.
"The Club World Cup affects a lot," he told reporters after the game. "We try to rotate. When you win, no one mentions all that. When we don't win, everyone is focused on that, and now I think it's important to recover energy for Saturday and go again."
That said, he admitted his side simply weren't clinical enough against Qarabag and lamented the manner in which they conceded both goals.
"The big difference today for me was inside the box," Maresca insisted. "The goal we conceded, they are silly goals for me. In their box, for the amount of times that we arrived, we have not been clinical enough. So this is the big difference for me."
Chelsea captain Reece James was equally scathing about his side's defensive display, pinpointing the blunders that saw the Blues fall behind. "Disappointing to sum up," the 25-year-old said after the game. "Coming here, we wanted to win. We felt that we set up strong, but we made two errors that led to a penalty and a goal that we gifted them, and then to get back into the game is difficult.
"Two mistakes led to two goals, and it's difficult when the momentum in the game changes, and we simply didn't do enough. We had a few chances we didn't take and we only have ourselves to blame.
"If you look at the goals that we have conceded, they haven't been from amazing play, more our mistakes, and that is something we need to cut out."