Enzo Maresca explains negative substitutions as Chelsea lose to Brighton | OneFootball

Chelsea lost a second successive Premier League game, which leaves the Blues already trailing in the race for a Champions League slot.

Chelsea were in control against Brighton & Hove Albion, but a red card to Trevoh Chalobah put the West London outfit at a disadvantage, and the Seagulls capitalised.

The Blues were down to 10 men for the second game in a row, and Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca came under fire for his in-game substitutions.

Fans didn’t like that on both occasions, Maresca has opted for an overly cautious approach, removing his attacking options in an attempt to shore up the back.

However, the Italian tactician defended his decision to plug the gap at the back.

He explained (via Football London): “Yes, we did the first change that was Josh for the red card for Andrey (Santos), because we needed a central defender.

“Then the reason why Malo (Gusto) came on was just because Minteh was many times one-on-one with Reece, so we tried to give Reece help in that situation to defend the two-on-one.

“And then the last change, Jorrel (Hato) was asking for a change because he had cramp.”

Chelsea have now shipped 11 goals in just five matches since the international break, an average of 2.2 per game.

With numbers like that, it is hard to begrudge Maresca for leaning on defensive reinforcements when his side goes down a man.

His approach may frustrate supporters eager for attacking intent.

However, Chelsea’s backline has been far too porous, and they lack the cohesion to go gung-ho with 10 men.

Additionally, he cannot be held responsible for his players receiving unnecessary red cards and sabotaging games.

Besides, towards the end of the summer transfer window, he was asking for defensive reinforcement, which the club never provided him.

He now has to navigate crucial games versus Benfica, Liverpool, and Nottingham Forest without the concussed Wesley Fofana and the suspended Chalobah.

Chelsea are also missing the injured Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo.

Maresca might have to turn to returning Benoit Badiashile and teenager Josh Acheampong to anchor the defence.

Fans need to get off Maresca and allow him to find solutions to this defensive porousness. He is trying his best with the blunt tools at his disposal.