Part of Chelsea team many had doubts over is “dominating most games” thanks to “manager of the season” Maresca | OneFootball

Joe Cole was on TNT Sport’s coverage of Chelsea’s win over Brentford last night, and he was buzzing for his old team.

He backed new coach Enzo Maresca as the manager of the year so far, after a win which took his team even closer to the top of the table.

“It’s looking great! I think Enzo Maresca’s so far manager of the season,” Cole beamed.

“What he had to contend with at the start [of the season]… We were talking to him, remember at West Ham, and he was like talking about the 30-odd players he’s got and trying to manage the squad.

“A lot of question marks on the recruitment and since maybe sort of late September, it’s just been an upward curve.”

There’s a real sense of optimism at Chelsea after a long period of difficulty, and it’s creating quite the feeling of euphoria at times, especially after a home win over an opposition team which has caused us a lot of trouble recently.

Enzo Maresca and Moises Caicedo on the touchline. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

Midfield picked out for particular praise after dominant showing

Cole also wanted to give credit to one part of the team he thought was functioning really well under the new coach:

“The midfield, Caicedo, Enzo, Lavia, [Cole] Palmer, three of the four in there is just dominating most games,” Cole said of the midfield group which is really starting to function well.

Even with Lavia out yesterday, and up against a really physical and well drilled Brentford team, Chelsea controlled the game right from the start. They had 80% possession at times in the first half. At times many people had assumed that the Caicedo-Lavia double pivot wouldn’t work, especially with Palmer ahead of them. But clever tinkering of the system from Maresca has made it a feasible option, even in games like this.