Enzo Maresca has all season to secure his job – but there is a lot of work to be done | OneFootball

This is a syndication of the article originally published for the BBC, here.

A red card born of an error followed by a bad decision, defensive changes and an eventual collapse. Sound familiar? Chelsea repeated many of the frustrations from the defeat to Manchester United in the home loss to Brighton on Saturday.

In this case, the Blues were at least winning the game when they decided to remove all their attacking threat. But once again, switching to a defensive stance reduced their ability to create anything, without actually helping them keep goals out.

Manager admits to mistakes in red card confusion

Enzo Maresca shouts instructions on the touchline. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Enzo Maresca has since admitted that these were mistakes and that he’s learning from them – but that’s cold comfort for fans who are already very worried. Last season Chelsea survived a desperate spell of form in the winter because of the points they had accumulated in the autumn. This year, they’ve started much more slowly. In addition, the fact that they didn’t have a preseason and were playing in the Club World Cup until July means a mid-season dip is even more likely.

Maresca struggling to get Chelsea on the right track again

Talk of the manager being under pressure is premature – but things are heading in the wrong direction, even if there is a long way to go. The squad are half exhausted and half injured and it’s not yet October. The same lack of experience which hurt them so much last year still haunts them. Maresca’s mea culpa shows that it’s not just his squad who are learning on the job.

There is no leadership at the back and no coherent, consistent attacking play. More pertinently, there is now no Cole Palmer to make up for those failings. This week could be another punishing one – Benfica come to Stamford Bridge tonight to face a wounded Chelsea, and will smell blood. Liverpool on Saturday are an even more worrying prospect.

Will Faulks @willfaulks