Chelsea make instant decision over Enzo Maresca's future after Brighton defeat | OneFootball

Chelsea have offered their full backing of head coach Enzo Maresca despite a recent dip in form in the Premier League.

Saturday's 3-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion ensured Chelsea suffered back-to-back defeats in the league, with their last win coming on August 30 against Fulham.

Chelsea have won just one of their last five games in all competitions, which came against Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup third round, and pressure has grown on Maresca from the club's supporters.

A big week awaits Chelsea before the October international break. They welcome both Benfica and Liverpool to Stamford Bridge, and Maresca will be keen to get back to winning ways to reduce the noise.

However, ahead of the Champions League match against Benfica on Tuesday, the Chelsea hierarchy have issued their stance over Maresca.

IMAGO / Martin Dalton

As reported by Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, Maresca retains the full faith of the Chelsea board and sporting directors.

It's suggested that there is no sense of panic over the club's mini-slump, particularly after the much bigger slump they recovered from last season. Their aim this season remains to finish inside the Premier League top four and have a run in the cups.

Both of Chelsea's defeats against Man United and Brighton saw Maresca's side reduced to 10-men, which has played a significant part in the outcomes of both matches.

Maresca has rued the costly errors his side have made, and it has been a point that has been firmly made inside the Chelsea dressing room.

"The message that we just said inside has been quite clear: against any team in the Premier League you cannot continue to give away presents, because what we are doing in this moment is to give away presents in terms of red cards, that is a big mistake because the game completely changed," Maresca told reporters post-Brighton.

He added: "For sure we need to learn, and we need to learn quick, so the reason why it can be a mix of experience or a mix of simple mistakes.

IMAGO / Martin Dalton

"Then in terms of injury, I think that if you just watch first-half today, you don't think about the injured players, because first-half again we were in control, dominating the game, and then, again, I would like to tell you something different, but at the end it's the reality of the last two games, unfortunately with two red cards everything changed."

Chelsea's hierarchy was seen going into the dressing room after the Brighton game, however Maresca was quick to clarify this is the norm.

The 45-year-old concluded: "They have been inside the changing room like always, we have an office inside the changing room where after every game we sit and talk about the game, but they didn't say nothing to the players, it was nothing, completely different compared to the rest of the team."