Chelsea has come to the real situation, let’s call it this season’s reality. The table of the Premier League doesn’t lie on Chelsea’s side; they are good, but can’t compete for the title yet. After the opening games, it was visible that Chelsea can reach the Champions League positions in the Premier League this season, and it is their Premier League goal for this season.
For this Premier League campaign, the fourth position is reachable; they surely won’t be the champions. It is absolutely clear that Chelsea’s goal is 4th position, which brings the Champions League football also next year. Their goal is realistic, they can be relaxed while playing Premier League, and if they come in a good winning streak and play good football, and catch many important points, they can finish in Champions League positions.
Champions League football has returned to Stamford Bridge and that is exactly the goal of Maresca’s lead, who will gonna seek a good result in this competition where Chelsea didn’t play for three straight years.
So many Chelsea players are gonna catch some Champions League football and make their debuts, and can make a very successful Champions League run with Chelsea.
Chelsea has played World Cup during the summer and won it, also in the lower European Cup, the Conference League, Chelsea reached the top. So Chelsea has won two cups in elimination last season with huge experience and very great performances that led them to the World Cup victory and glory.
With six games in groups left, home and away, if Chelsea can turn these matches on their side, they could become a very dangerous factor in this year’s Champions League edition. We can watch one Chelsea during Premier League weeks and another team in Europe that is capable of eliminating almost anyone in the draw.
Chelsea is doing things with tactics, and what is being done by Chelsea is a complete analysis of their opponents and preparing the game based on insight into the opponents; they are leaning on the tactics, very good positioning, and well-organized midfielders with significant importance of the number 10 position – attacking midfielder position. With so a big influence and importance and leadership of Cole Palmer.
If they catch victories in the next system group stage Premier League games, they can harm any team they are playing against.
With players who are starting their Champions League careers and very good new arrivals, Chelsea looks comfortable to be able to play on both sides, with a hard emphasis on the Champions League result as their main goal for the season.
They should also be very hard to beat in the opening games of the FA Cup because they are very good at elimination.
Enzo Fernandez
The thing happening behind the scenes is huge for Chelsea fans. Maresca has started a project of implementing Enzo Fernandez as one of the biggest Chelsea stars, as huge as Cole Palmer’s role is.
After Palmer’s injury, Enzo Maresca had a few options to replace him on the pitch. He had the option to play with Buonanotte as a ten and a playmaker, as a new Brighton arrival has stayed in the back so far. He had Andrey Santos as one of his options, also, but he has decided to make Enzo Fernandez as his 10, as was used in the past few games.
When Cole returns, he will be able to combine Palmer and Fernandez in this position. He can play Enzo where there is no Palmer, and he can switch their time from team to team and accumulate their playing time. He can use one or another, and both are a perfect fit together; they can both be very deadly and fatal for Premier League defenses.
In the midfield, he has Caicedo and Andrey Santos, and can also use Enzo in the middle. This is how Chelsea has two fantastic playmakers that one is always on the pitch. So Andrey Santos is gonna have a much more defensive task than expected.
Further options
So Chelsea can have all three of their best midfielders on the pitch, midfielders with so much attacking ability and touch of passing. Marseca was using earlier this season Fernandez together with Andrey Santos on the pitch, so the creativity of his midfield side can be enormous. Caicedo’s defensive abilities can be needed and can explain the Marseca desire to have and develop a midfielder like Caicedo. He can cover the defensive positions while Enzo, Palmer, and Andrey Santos are doing the creations.
Maresca is using Enzo Fernandez smartly by entering the number 10, dominating the game, and can be extremely lethal for opponents’ defenses. He can have a game and be waiting for the opener, so he could assist and organize the action that makes the difference in the games.
He was given all the freedoms against Benfica; he had a space to create. He was also in this position against Brighton and is now becoming the second Chelsea star. He does this with his qualities and can play attacking midfielder or a central midfielder, and can put a creation on his side completely. He can’t be stopped easily. Enzo Fernadez is a very good and consistent player who can tie the gap and the cracks easily with one pass only.
So Enzo Fernandez is Chelsea’s best player after Palmer. Really, we can see them together on the pitch, they can be replaced one for another, and then Chelsea’s game changes when they are replaced. The opposing defensive sides are not aware of that, and can’t defend that anymore. The rhythm is changing itself.
Enzo Fernández is unarguably one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. With his status as number 10, he can do so many good things for Chelsea. It won’t be past one or two years; he will be one of the best players in the world, and this is what Maresca is working on now. I think in a few years, Enzo Fernandez can become the Golden Ball winner with his efforts and contributions in Chelsea games; he can be the best player in the world.
With a more defensive role for Andrey Santos, as using Lavia for the Premier League, which he lacks, he really needs to play some Premier League football. And with Moises Caicedo, this Chelsea team is a guarantee of success and winning trophies.
We will say a few lines on Estevao Willian’s Chelsea impact so far and Maresca’s views on that side. When it was about the second game week in late August, many were expecting to get Estevao to start on the right wing. Maresca said Estevao is great, but we have another player. He was giving time to Estevao time to adapt to English football and culture.
In the early season, Maresca was playing both Delap and Joao Pedro in the starting eleven. The injury to Cole Palmer made him use Estevao Willian in this position and prepare the field for another number 10.
His ball control, knowledge, dribbling skill, with pass improvement have been improved for this time, so Estevao has been spared many of the far right wing obligations.
Maresca has seen that his football knowledge and ball control are too good just to play a winger only, so he has been prepared to play as an attacking midfielder. You will see this in the games to come in the Premier League and Champions League. Maresca now has two replacements for that position. When Palmer is not there, he can combine them perfectly.
Maresca is a very tactical coach, and this role of number ten is of the highest importance with him.
He has spared the young eighteen-year-old player from the pressure, potential injuries, and hard duels and kept him fresh for the ongoing run.
Chelsea has the ability now, with a much deeper squad, to be losing with the starting line-up and can then make a few substitutions, and on the pitch, there is a team that is fresh that can’t be beaten and outplayed.
Chelsea’s focus this season isn’t the Premier League; it is the Champions League.
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