Enzo Maresca leaves Chelsea after 18 months at the club | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has left his role as Chelsea manager with the club sitting fifth in the Premier League after a poor run of results and a breakdown in relations behind the scenes, as reported by BBC Sport.

The 45-year-old departs less than six months after winning the Club World Cup, having also guided Chelsea to a top-four finish and Conference League success last season. However, Chelsea won only one of their final seven league games under Maresca and picked up just six points in December, leaving them 15 points behind leaders Arsenal.

In a statement, Chelsea said both parties believed a change would give the team the best chance of getting the season back on track, with Champions League qualification still to play for.

Results were not the only issue. Maresca’s relationship with the club’s hierarchy became strained after a series of disagreements, including public comments he made following a win over Everton in December. Those remarks came as a surprise to senior figures and worsened tensions that had been building for months.

Maresca had also publicly questioned transfer decisions and felt pressure was increasing over team selection, while the club believed discussions should remain private.

His final game was a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on 30 December. Maresca did not speak to the media afterwards and was absent from Chelsea’s end-of-year social media content.

Chelsea will face Manchester City on Sunday without a permanent manager. Assistant coach Willy Caballero has also left, and under-21s coach Calum McFarlane will handle media duties.

The club are now searching for their next head coach as another chapter of instability begins at Stamford Bridge.

GFN | Finn Entwistle