Why Chelsea Will Look Very Different In The 2024/25 Season
As we all know, Chelsea FC has hired Enzo Maresca to be their manager next season. With his acumen knowledge and experiences either as a first-team manager or assistant, the Italian coach has stepped up to a new stage where he will compete against the créme de la créme of coaches.
In fact, based on what he has done with his former club, Leicester City, it looks like the future is bright for the Blues, who have been in a dire state since the takeover of their beloved club. The fans are now more eager than before to see Chelsea back among the elite at the top of the Premier League table.
We bring you the information you need to know about how potentially Chelsea will look tactically under Enzo Maresca.
Preparation is Everything for Maresca:
To understand how Chelsea will play under Enzo Maresca, let’s look at how Leicester City applied the Italian philosophy. The Foxes were an assiduous team in dominating possession and aggressively pounced on the opposition to regain the ball again in the opposite half in case they lost it.
One of the eye-catching things Enzo Maresca has done and will do again with the Blues is his utilisation of the goalkeeper in a deeper buildup. The ex-Guardiola assistant is one of the advocates of the 3-box-3 in possession, in which one of the fullbacks tends to tuck inside to form situational double pivots in the midfield. In the last days of Mauricio Pochettino with Chelsea, Marc Cucurella has been playing as an inverted fullback and now Reece James has reported his work on this side of the game: “It’s early days but very enjoyable. It’s a lot different from what I’m used to but I think with how I play, it suits me quite well. But I still have a lot to learn for what he [Maresca] wants in the role but I’m excited.”
This system gives Maresca’s team the edge if they were pressed man to man by an opposition high up the pitch. To elaborate more, if teams involved three players to take charge of Chelsea’s back three, the goalkeeper will step up to form a back four and win a numerical advantage during the construction phase. In this case, the opposition must come up with another alternative to prevent Enzo Maresca’s team from progressing with the ball through.
Let’s take the case of the opposition deciding to add another player up top to press the goalkeeper. That is certainly a suicidal move, as Chelsea will have 7 players against 6 outfield cogs behind the first line of the press. That means an unfair game, as Maresca’s boys will be provided by a free man all over the pitch. And what could be more beneficial than having a passing option for the coach and the player himself?
In fact, Chelsea’s squad is full of talent that can fit the new manager’s vision. The new signing, Tosin Adarabioyo might form a wonderful defensive pair with Lewi Colwill in the buildup phase, as both are good at playing under pressure, especially Colwill who was operating in quite the same role under Roberto De Zerbi who was enticing and inviting the opposition to press his team, then progress through the third man-combination and artificially transition.
In the middle of the park, the former Leicester City coach prefers a six with the ability to play calmly under pressure, turn with the ball, and burst past his marker up top. And that is what Moisés Caicedo is good at doing in the same position, with his destroying traits added to the mix.
High up the pitch, Enzo Maresca wants his wingers to get some chalk on their boots to open up the inside channels for the midfielders to exploit if the opposite fullbacks instinctively opt for following the wingers near the touchlines. That means the defence is stretched and holes appear within the opposition side. Actually, it’s there where Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the new Chelsea midfielder, thrives. He scored 12 goals and 14 assists last season just by sneaking around and patrolling down the stretches created.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall tends to drop to the midfield next to the six to receive. However, he looks to take place in the final third and accomplish the playmaking duties behind the striker. And by mentioning goals and number 9, the latest news report says that the Blues are working on bringing Victor Osimhen in on loan from Napoli with a buy option for the next season. With the Nigerian striker in the front line pulling the defenders towards their goals, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall or Christopher Nkunku will have pockets of space to turn with the ball and feed the runner in behind with through balls. As aforementioned, Dewsbury-Hall put his name on the scoresheet 12 times last season. His movements as a second striker and his arrival late into the box allowed him to catch crosses and cut-backs.
Under Maresca’s coaching, Leicester City averaged 60% possession. That saw them pin the opposition in the mid/low blocks for long periods. Chelsea Eights could penetrate the inside channels by making runs down these lanes to pull the centre-backs’ attention and take the pressure off the striker to enable him to make runs in behind. It’s important to notice that the opposite midfielders will track and make the Blues Eights as hard as they can. In that case, the double pivot formed by the inverted fullback and the six could soak up the press, dominate possession, and bring the ball up to the wingers, who could attack inward, take advantage of the Eights situation, and add extra bodies into the centre.
Chelsea Out-Of-Possession:
To understand what Enzo Maresca will do with Chelsea off the ball, we must look at his previous team, Leicester City. The Foxes didn’t lead every statistic during the 2023–2024 season in the Championship. However, they were efficient and effective at executing what the coach asked them to.
They were the third team regarding passes per defensive action (PPDA) per 90 minutes. However, they ended the season as the team with the most goals (12) from high turnovers.
Enzo Maresca instructs his team to convert into a 4-4-2 shape off the ball, with one of the eights (Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall) stepping up next to the striker to form a front two to lead the press. The striker usually, with a curved run, tries to force the play one way, whereas the eight is ready to jump in case of a switch back across. Once the ball goes to one of the pitch sides, the far winger narrows inside to allow the two midfielders to shift across, and the closest winger pushes high to press the ball holder with the opposite fullback supporting from behind. That puts the opposition in lockdown and provides Enzo Maresca’s side with the opportunity to regain the ball.
The Blues coach returns to a mid-block maintaining the same shape. One of the eights stays with the striker in the front line operating on different heights. The two other central midfielders hold the same shape as the front two but are a little behind, as one drops to control the zone between the lines and support the defenders. As a result, a gap appears in midfield where the eight, high up the pitch has to drop to provide cover. On the non-ball side, the far winger tends to tuck inside leaving the wide area free. However, in case the opposition succeeds in switching the ball on the vacated space, Enzo Maresca’s team shifts the block across conserving the same shape and patterns.
The former Manchester City EDS coach might use the 4-3-3 shape out of possession, as he has done before with Parma. The front line jumps over the defenders, whereas the trio in the middle of the park takes charge of the central channel to prevent any possible progression through the block. The fullbacks must provide support from behind the wide areas. When teams choose to progress down the wide channels, Enzo Maresca sets his team in a 4-1-4-1 as one of the central midfielders drops behind to protect the centre. Adding to that, the fullbacks need to pounce with intensity to press in collaboration with the wingers, who have to recover and double up their man.
Chelsea and Injuries:
As everyone knows, Chelsea is a well-equipped team to apply Enzo Maresca’s ideas on the pitch. However, based on what the Blues have been witnessing the previous season, it’s hard to predict who’s going to stay fit for a long period to get accustomed to the Italian philosophy, especially when it comes to Roméo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku, who have been absent nearly for the entire year. These two cogs are top-notch players in doing what their positions require.
Let’s start with Roméo Lavia. When fit, the Belgian player is press-resistant as he is calm in crucial areas where he must receive the ball with his back to the opposite net, take a faint, spin with it to leave his marker(s) in his wake, and take his team up top. He plays as a defensive midfielder, with the wisdom and knowledge to understand the tiny spaces around him and exploit them in his favour. Roméo Lavia, with his physicality and intelligence, can retain the ball when he cannot find his way out. Roberto De Zerbi’s style consists of playing through pressure more safely. When obligated to pass, he can keep hold of the ball at high moments of pressure, recycling it back to the defence and redoing their rituals with the ball.
In the front, what else could be said more than what Enzo Maresca has said about Christopher Nkunku: “I loved him before I joined this club. In the way we want to play, he is the ideal player. He can play in the pocket, in the nine, on the wing. At this moment, we are using him in the pocket and he is doing very well.”.
Christopher Nkunku has all the abilities to play wherever in the final third. What he got enabled him to stretch the width of the pitch, combine with the eight down the inside channels, and take on defenders using his speed and body control on the wings. As a nine, he can operate between two centre-backs and make their lives hell by making runs in behind to receive through balls and score, pulling the defender, and evacuating the space behind him for his teammates to exploit the hole generated by such movements.
Takeaways:
Enzo Maresca has the knowledge, experience, and personnel to apply a possession-based style in which his team will dominate the opposition in their half. But, it’s fair to say that he needs time as every newly recruited coach for him and for his players to understand his vision and convictions.
Finally, let’s address the elephant in the room: Chelsea Board. They have to be patient, support the manager through ups and downs and avoid the same mistakes that led to chaos in previous seasons. But who knows what will happen? Let’s wait and see.
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