Chelsea’s new manager, Enzo Maresca, warned fans that they should brace themselves for a season of defensive challenges as the team adjusts to his strategy of playing out from the back. This statement followed Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Wrexham in a pre-season friendly held in California.
The match, which marked Maresca’s first in charge of the Blues, saw Chelsea’s defense exposed by the League One side. Despite taking an early lead through a goal by Christopher Nkunku, Chelsea struggled to maintain their advantage. Wrexham’s Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott capitalized on defensive errors in the second half to put Wrexham ahead, nearly causing an upset. Chelsea managed to avoid a defeat with a late equalizer from Lesley Ugochukwu.
Addressing the defensive mishaps, Maresca was upfront about the potential pitfalls of his tactical approach. “For sure, we are going to concede goals this season playing out from the back. Hopefully, not too many. It is one of the risks that you have trying to build from behind,” he stated.
Despite the evident vulnerabilities, Maresca remains steadfast in his commitment to this style of play. When questioned about the necessity of this approach, he confirmed, “Absolutely. I have no doubt.”
Maresca also touched on the topic of goalkeeping amid speculation about potential new signings. “We’ll see, we’ll see,” he said regarding the possibility of bringing in a new goalkeeper. “In this moment we have four goalkeepers. Petrovic is still with us but injured. We will see with the timing. When the transfer window is open, anything can happen for us and for the rest.”
He praised the performance of current goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, noting, “What I can say is Robert did very well tonight and did very well since we started. For sure, the way we want to play, the goalkeeper is very, very important – one of the main positions. And I don’t want to talk about players that are not Chelsea players but I am very happy with Robert.”
