Looking at Chelsea’s project, the development of young players, the rotations he applies to protect his squad, Chelsea’s performances in big matches, the trophies won last season—including the FIFA Club World Cup, the comfortable run through the Conference League, the team’s overall play, and the substitutions he executes successfully every match—all point to one man: Enzo Maresca. He makes a difference at Chelsea and separates them from others.
We must talk about the success Enzo Maresca has brought directly to Chelsea and the significant rise of the club over the past two seasons since his arrival.
His contribution to Chelsea, both in the dressing room and on the pitch, as well as his tactics and the way his Chelsea team performs, is more than great. The rapid improvement clearly coincides with Maresca’s appointment, and it is evident that Chelsea is making dramatic progress in every category.
With Enzo Maresca appointed, Chelsea has found perfect stability and was exactly club needed and could not have under Pochettino’s leadership.
Maresca is the decisive factor behind Chelsea’s revival following the very poor and unsuccessful period under Mauricio Pochettino.
Enzo Masreca’s playing style at Chelsea
Enzo Maresca is a manager with knowledge, calmness and character. His Chelsea plays modern, intelligent football built on structure, positioning, and direct wingers who attack defenders constantly.
The midfield line is playing patiently with composure. Seeking a chance to unlock persistent defensive-oriented teams.
Enzo Fernandez, in his role, is waiting for his direct pass throw, avoiding constantly being closed by opponents’ defensive line and losing the ball, so he is playing his midfield role in Maresca system with patience, waiting for a gap to be created on the defensive side, then, he executes the pass and creates a direct chance for scoring a goal.
In that way, for example, Cucuralla can receive the ball and can have enough time after Enzo Fernández pass and make a secure pass and assist to the player who is in a great position to score a goal. Just like it happened against Liverpool.
Enzo Fernandez, a key midfielder who is dictating the tempo of the team, is not passing the ball constantly but is waiting for a gap to set the pass and create a chance.
Fernandez and others are waiting to unlock the opponent’s defence with great passes that are going between the lines. This is being seen for so many teams in the games because many teams are defending against Chelsea constantly.
Sometimes it is not easy to conduct this pass because opponents are closing the space greatly and defending very strongly in the Premier League.
Not singing a Central Back in August
It must also be noted that Chelsea did not sign a centre-back late in the summer transfer window, yet Maresca has extracted the maximum from his defence through smart rotations. Chelsea’s best centre-back pair is Trevoh Chalobah – Wesley Fofana. Maresca is also using his other options, Badiashille and Tosin.
Maresca leads this team with authority and expertise. Working with a very young squad, he has built a highly organised tactical system featuring aggressive attacking transitions and strong contributions from wide areas.
After a long period of instability, Chelsea has become a strong and very stable side that is led by a great approach and system. The team is also highly competitive and tactically great. Players are fresh and well protected under Maresca’s guidance.
The club is progressing in all the categories, and the manager is leading the project with calmness, knowledge and maturity. The club is progressing great in all aspects.
Player Protection and Rotation
Enzo Maresca is a manager who stands firmly by his principles. His priority is protecting his players through constant rotation to preserve fitness and avoid injuries. He is taking the best of his players, who are well-rested and performing well during the games.
He openly explains to the media week after week that players must be rested and that he is responsible for rotation; playing Wednesday–Saturday repeatedly is not sustainable.
He protects his players, such as Estevao and Acheampong, from some poor performance and potentially harsh criticism for some potentially bad performances.
He refuses to sacrifice player health and long-term form for a single three-point result. He would rather rest players like Estevão Willian, Wesley Fofana and others, than risk exhaustion or injury.
This maturity in squad management is one of his greatest strengths of Enzo Maresca.
The substitutions- Maresca masterclass at substitutions
What impresses most, however, are his substitutions—particularly early in the second half when Chelsea have underperformed in the first.
Maresca consistently introduces the right quality from the bench to change matches and their course and outcome. In this area, he is the best manager in the Premier League.
His decisions are decisive and very rarely wrong. He sees perfectly when he needs an attacking option. He knows his player qualities and uses them well. He is comfortable and standing by his decisions. His decisions are right. His approach is much more offensive than closing the match with defensive options from the bench.
Whether introducing the right attacking option or withdrawing a player at the right moment, Maresca shows clarity, confidence, and control. His substitutes are mostly offensively oriented. His players trust him completely. He is always right with the substitutes. He is an absolute leader for all players and is a true Chelsea boss.
A modern manager with this level of authority and tactical intelligence is rare in the Premier League. Enzo Maresca is absolutely central to Chelsea’s success. His leadership, confidence, and tactical innovations have elevated the club and returned Chelsea to the Champions League, following last season’s achievements.
He represents the ideal modern football manager: tactically complete, authoritative, intelligent, and charismatic. Everything that failed under Pochettino has succeeded under Maresca.
Statistically, no Premier League manager has a greater direct impact on points gained by substitutions and impact from the bench. Alongside Chelsea’s project, Maresca himself has become one of the club’s most valuable assets—a manager many players would want to work under. This gives Chelsea strength in the transfer market.
Winning the Club World Cup was only the beginning. Maresca rarely gets his tactical setup wrong, and when he does, he has the intelligence to correct it during the match. His team is now fully integrated into his system, with clearly defined roles.
The Italian manager’s inheritance at Chelsea
Chelsea still has enormous room for growth this season. Now they are in the EFL Cup semi-finals and are looking for something great this season. Rotation has kept the squad fresh and confident, and Maresca’s ceiling is extremely high.
He could surpass the achievements of previous Italian managers at Chelsea, such as Antonio Conte, Carlo Ancelotti, Maurizio Sarri, Roberto Di Matteo, and Claudio Ranieri.
Enzo Maresca could be Chelsea’s long-term solution and a manager for more than a decade, and he can become one of the most successful managers in the club’s history. At this stage of the project, Chelsea looks outstanding—and under Maresca, the future looks extremely promising.
It does not look impossible that Maresca can win the Champions League trophy with Chelsea.
The Club World Cup victory in July was merely the opening chapter of Enzo Maresca’s reign at Stamford Bridge.
S.Šijaković
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