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JOHN TERRY DEMANDS ENZO MARESCA END ROTATION AFTER "BAD PERFORMANCE
The 3-1 loss to Leeds was a major setback for Chelsea. John Terry urged manager Maresca to stop rotating players and demand more "fight" from the squad.
According to club legend John Terry, Chelsea's disappointing loss to Leeds United could hurt their chances in the Premier League title race. The Blues icon expressed frustration with his former team's lack of experience after their damaging 3-1 defeat, which leaves them nine points behind leaders Arsenal. It’s a stark contrast to their previous 1-1 draw against Arsenal.
Chelsea's Form Dips After Leeds Loss
Last Sunday, Chelsea put up a good fight with 10 men against Arsenal, earning a point. They then travelled to face a struggling Leeds team, just six points behind Arsenal.
While Arsenal managed to beat Brentford, Chelsea unexpectedly lost at Elland Road. At halftime, they were down 2-0 after goals from Jaka Bijol and Ao Tanaka. Pedro Neto scored for the Blues early in the second half, giving them a chance.
Despite Neto's goal, Chelsea couldn't equalise. Tosin Adarabioyo's mistake led to Leeds' third goal, scored by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, sealing Chelsea's defeat.
This loss ended Chelsea's seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions. Fans are disappointed, as they hoped to see their team improve from last season's fourth-place finish.
Terry's Frustration
Terry didn't hide his anger after the game, believing the loss could be a major setback for Chelsea.
Speaking on TikTok, Terry, who won 15 major trophies with Chelsea, including five Premier League titles and one Champions League crown, said, That was a bad performance.
I knew Leeds would be aggressive. The fans would be loud, and it would be tough. You either match that intensity or try to calm the game down. We didn't do that in the first half.
You can't follow up two great performances with that. It won't make you title contenders. It's our inexperience that will cost us. If you can't go to Leeds and know what to expect...
Terry Urges Maresca to Stick with Key Players
Terry, still upset, also felt Chelsea lacked fight. He wants manager Maresca to stop rotating the squad and stick with the players who will give their all every week.
"You need to go there and show fight, match Leeds in every way, and earn the right to play," Terry added. After 15 or 20 minutes, you can start playing football once you've earned it.
Poor set-piece defending and individual mistakes aren't good enough. Maybe the manager should look at the squad and decide rotations aren't the way forward. He needs to pick his best 11-14 players and stick with them.
Maresca Acknowledges Poor Performance
Chelsea's next game is against Bournemouth on Saturday. After that, they face Atalanta in the Champions League on December 9.
Maresca said about the Leeds game: I think they were better than us in every way. They deserved to win.
We can't take anything positive from the game. We need to understand our mistakes and reset. We have another game in 48 hours [against Bournemouth].
After playing so well against Barcelona and Arsenal, you expect a better performance. But things didn't go our way. We changed players, and the level dropped because the players we changed are important.
ENZO MARESCA EXPLAINS: WHY ESTEVAO WILLIAN STAYED ON THE BENCH DURING 2-1 UCL DEFEAT
Unused sub Estevao Willian showed his desire to win by kicking a cone in frustration after Chelsea conceded to Atalanta, a moment Maresca explained was due to an injury change.
Estevao Willian's disappointment was clear during Chelsea's 2-1 loss to Atalanta in the Champions League. The 18-year-old winger spent the whole match on the bench Tuesday night as Chelsea blew their lead.
Joao Pedro scored first for Chelsea, slipping the ball past Marco Carnesecchi. Even though they had a few more good chances, the Blues didn't score again before Atalanta tied the game.
Late in the game, Charles De Ketelaere scored, his shot deflecting past Robert Sanchez. With this loss, Chelsea has dropped out of the top eight and hasn't won in their last four games.
Estevao really wanted to play in Bergamo, but he remained a substitute. He warmed up in the second half and was near the field when Gianluca Scamacca scored the tying goal.
A fan caught Estevao's reaction to the goal and posted it on X (the social media platform previously known as Twitter). The young player was clearly upset when Atalanta scored, grabbing his shirt and saying something to himself before kicking a training cone.
He went back to warming up with Jorrel Hato, Andrey Santos, Marc Guiu, and Facundo Buonanotte. Even during this tough moment, Estevao's desire to play, his love for the game, and his will to win were obvious.
After the game, Maresca told reporters why Estevao didn't play. Tosin [Adarabioyo] had to come on because Wes [Fofana] needed to be subbed out; that was a change we had to make, the Chelsea coach said.
If we had another substitution available, Estevao or Andrey [Santos] probably would have played. But that change changed our plan for the game a bit.
Maresca talked about the difficulties of rotating the starting lineup: Tonight, our starting eleven included eight or nine players who also played against Tottenham, Barcelona, Wolves, and Arsenal.
We had eight or nine players who played in most of these matches. So, the five changes we made compared to the Bournemouth game were different.
But if you look at the team, we had eight or nine players who also played against Barcelona, Arsenal, Tottenham, Wolves, you know, those types of games. These are the players who are playing almost every game.
About the results, Maresca commented, "After we conceded, we lost some control of the match." In the first half, we scored a goal, allowed some chances, but also created a few of our own.
In the second half, we had two good opportunities to score another goal. But after they scored to tie the game, we lost control again, and then they scored a second time.
I think we could have stopped both goals. They were easy goals to avoid.
JOE COLE DEMANDS EXPERIENCE: CHELSEA'S COLLAPSE AFTER ATALANTA LOSS IS 'DISAPPOINTING'
Following a major loss to Atalanta, former Chelsea star Joe Cole highlights the team's need for experienced leaders to navigate tough matches.
After Chelsea's loss to Atalanta in the Champions League, Joe Cole made it clear what he thinks the team needs. Their recent form has been really disappointing, he said.
Just weeks ago, after they crushed Barcelona 3-0, people thought Enzo Maresca's team could go far in both the Premier League and Champions League.
But since then, Chelsea hasn't won four straight games. They've dropped to fifth place in the Premier League, eight points behind Arsenal.
On Tuesday, Joao Pedro put Chelsea ahead against Atalanta, but the home team came back with two goals in the second half to win 2-1.
This loss puts Chelsea in 11th place in the Champions League, and they'll likely fall even further after Wednesday's games.
Cole said Chelsea's performance in Italy was really disappointing. He believes that his old club needs to add some experienced players to Maresca's squad.
Since Todd Boehly took over in 2022, Chelsea has spent a ton of money, but they've mostly signed young players with potential rather than established stars.
It’s really disappointing, Cole told TNT Sports after the 2-1 defeat. Chelsea played well in the first half and got the first goal.
But they looked shaky after that, and you could see their weaknesses. It’s frustrating.
They played great against Barcelona, but they haven't kept that up, with three poor performances since then.
I keep thinking that they need more experienced players to help them get through tough games.
The coaches probably told them what to expect tonight, but it helps to have someone who's been there before on the field.
Chelsea isn't quite there yet. They show flashes of potential and have some great games, but then they have games like tonight where they just don't play well.
This weekend is very important because they haven't won in four games. They have to win against Everton.
Steve Sidwell, another former Chelsea player, added, The first half was even, but Chelsea looked disorganised in the second half, maybe because of the changes they made.
They seemed a bit off, and if you give good players time and space, they'll make you pay.
After this disappointing result in Italy, Chelsea's chances of qualifying for the Champions League are uncertain.
Maresca's team will play Pafos at home in their next European game on January 21, followed by a game against Napoli the following week.
When asked about Chelsea's chances in their last two games, Cole said, You'd expect them to beat Pafos at home, which would set up a huge game at Antonio Conte’s Napoli.
That game will be important. You don’t have to finish in the top eight, but you want to avoid playing extra games because the Premier League is tough.
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