Enzo Maresca says Club World Cup is still affecting Chelsea after Qarabag draw | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said the Club World Cup is affecting his team selections after they dropped Champions League points in a 2-2 draw with Qarabag.

The Blues looked short of their best following a 2,500-mile trip to the Azerbaijan capital Baku and were given a fright by their hosts, who took a 2-1 lead before half-time.

Goals by Leandro Andrade and a penalty from Marko Jankovic turned the game around after Estevao’s early strike, which appeared to have Chelsea en route to a routine win.

Alejandro Garnacho’s goal in the second half spared the visitors’ blushes and rescued a point, but after Maresca made seven changes from the team that beat Tottenham at the weekend he pointed to a disrupted pre-season and lack of a summer break.

“The intention was to rest Moises (Caicedo), Enzo (Fernandez), Malo (Gusto) and more players,” he said. “They are not able to play every three days. The Club World Cup affected a lot. We tried to rotate. When we win, nobody mentions that but when we don’t, everyone is focused on that.”

The final of the summer tournament in the United States, which saw Chelsea beat Paris St Germain 3-0, was played only five weeks before the start of the new Premier League season.

“The (selection) is always because we think the plan with the players is the correct one,” said Maresca. “Today, we started the right way, scored the goal but then we conceded two, the first one when they had 10 players. We can avoid both goals. In their box, we need to be more clinical.”

There was more worry for Maresca as Romeo Lavia was forced off injured early on.

The midfielder has played only 30 times in more than two years since joining the club and has never completed a full 90 minutes.

“We feel a shame for him, especially for him,” said Maresca. “He’s not able to be fit for a long, long period. We will see now. It’s too early to understand what kind of injury. I think it’s his quad.”

The draw leaves Chelsea on eight points in the table, the same number as their hosts in Baku, but with one defeat already to their name there is little margin for error in their remaining four games if they hope to finish in the top eight and avoid a play-off in February.

Maresca’s team face Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night, less than 72 hours after returning from the eastern edge of Europe.

“It’s about all (the players),” said Maresca. “I think we started in the right way. We were in control of the game but when we conceded the first goal, we conceded the second one after four or five minutes.

“We were much better in the second half. Every game is a chance for them to show why they are here.”