Can Chelsea sack Enzo Maresca before the season ends? | OneFootball

Chelsea claimed a 2-0 Premier League win over Everton this weekend, which ended a run of four games without a win.

However, what should have been relief came with added tension after Enzo Maresca claimed that the 48 hours prior had been his worst as the club’s manager.

Maresca’s statement was clearly directed at the Chelsea hierarchy, with different theories as to why, but they all point to the same tension.

Most outlets claim he was unhappy they did not back him during the turbulent run and questioned his methods, leading to the outburst.

It is never a great sign when a manager comes out swinging against his bosses in a press conference, and rumours have started to swirl about a dismissal.

Can Chelsea sack the 45-year-old at the end of the campaign or even pull the trigger mid-season?

Why Maresca’s position suddenly feels precarious

Maresca’s comments have raised a more uncomfortable question – could this already be the beginning of the end of his tenure?

Chelsea’s ownership model has shown little tolerance for friction, even when results are acceptable.

Managers are expected not only to coach but to align perfectly with a rigid sporting structure that prioritises long-term squad planning.

Any public deviation from that script is viewed as destabilising, and Maresca’s remarks felt like a direct challenge to that hierarchy.

There is also the uncomfortable reality that Chelsea’s decision-makers have never been shy about cutting ties early.

Promising projects have been abandoned midstream before. Maresca’s willingness to air internal frustrations could be seen as a red flag.

Complicating matters further is the nature of Chelsea’s squad itself.

The club’s recruitment strategy has created an environment where the manager is often a caretaker of assets rather than an architect of a team.

If the hierarchy believes another boss could deliver similar results while being more compliant, the temptation to reset will always exist.

Managerial survival at Chelsea has rarely been about competence alone. It has just as often been about optics, obedience and a willingness to quietly absorb problems.

Maresca’s refusal to do so may yet prove costly.

Chelsea would be incredibly foolish to let go of Maresca

Considering the mess Maresca found Chelsea in and the work he has done to turn things around, they would be unwise to let him go, now or next summer.

The Italian tactician took a haphazardly assembled squad and gave them direction. His excellent work has papered over the shambolic transfer operations at the club.

The sporting directors have spent billions to assemble a big squad that still lacks several key components, yet Maresca has them comfortably thriving.

His man-management is brilliant. So is his tactical approach.

He has his faults, but he has breathed a winning mentality into this unnecessarily young core and has them competing for top honours.

Letting him go would represent yet another self-inflicted wound.

Chelsea won the lottery with Maresca. They should give him better tools and support to compete in the Premier League, not demand answers to problems they helped create.