Chelsea problems laid bare as Enzo Maresca strives for two key things | OneFootball

Sunderland defeat highlights inexperience as Blues struggle with after-effects of Club World Cup

Chelsea suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat to Sunderland on Saturday

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Just when Chelsea threaten to burst into life, they serve a stark reminder of their inexperience.

Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Sunderland was a shock result but not a surprising performance.

Chelsea are young, impetuous and yet filled to the brim with talent.

Enzo Maresca side sit ninth in a tight Premier League table

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Maresca knows this is a potentially dangerous combination and has been careful not to throw the prodigal talent Estevao headfirst into the team.

The 18-year-old was cheered on to the pitch against Sunderland, held up as Chelsea’s saving grace.

But while he has shown himself to be capable of big moments in a Chelsea shirt, he is still adapting and needs to be managed with care.

There is a Cole Palmer-shaped hole in this Chelsea team, so often the saviour for the Blues in recent seasons, but it is too much, too soon to ask Estevao to fulfil that responsibility.

As Maresca admitted after the Sunderland game, this is also a Chelsea team who, for all their youthful vigour, are struggling to contend with the impact of last season’s congested schedule.

The after-effects of the Club World Cup are already taking hold. Levi Colwill’s serious knee injury on the eve of the season was the start rather than the end of Chelsea’s injury issues.

Joao Pedro, ineffectual against Sunderland, is struggling with a groin issue and was not able to train in full in the lead up to last weekend.

Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, so crucial to making Chelsea tick in the centre of the park while playing an increasingly vital leadership role, are also playing through injuries.

Sunderland scored a 93rd-minute winner at Stamford Bridge

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A busy winter schedule and another international break next month, when Caicedo and Fernandez expected to make long journeys for their countries, will only exacerbate the issue further.

Chelsea have now dropped eight points from winning positions at home this season. They continue to struggle when the expectation is on them to pick up three points.

The Blues have played five league games at home this season, winning two, losing two and rather fortuitously drawing one against Crystal Palace in their opening game of the season, when the expectation was on them to follow up their impressive Club World Cup win.

The one game in which Chelsea have felt most deserving of three points at home is the one in which Estevao netted a 95th-minute winner against Liverpool to send Stamford Bridge into bedlam.

These oddities are to be expected from a team as young as Chelsea’s.

Control and consistency are the two things they continue to strive for under Maresca.