"LIKE MANAGER, LIKE TEAM": WHY ENZO MARESCA IS ACTUALLY HAPPY WITH CHELSEA'S RED CARDS
Enzo Maresca defends Chelsea's seven red cards this season, claiming the squad's aggressive personality mirrors his own.
Despite Chelsea's discipline problems, coach Enzo Maresca is happy if the team mirrors his personality.
The Blues got seven red cards this season. One was for Maresca, who's getting his second touchline ban against Aston Villa on Saturday because of yellow cards piling up.
Some dismissals really hurt, like Trevoh Chalobah and Robert Sanchez in losses to Brighton and Manchester United. Malo Gusto, Joao Pedro, and Liam Delap also got suspended.
Moises Caicedo's three-game ban after getting sent off against Arsenal in November hit Chelsea hard. Their midfield really missed who you could say was their best player this season.
The team's trouble with discipline didn't stop in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle on Saturday. Sanchez got a yellow card just seven minutes in for arguing about a call, and Maresca picked up his third warning of the season, leading to his ban.
The Italian coach has been really defending his squad during a tough month.
The club showed me a media comment today that said the team is like the manager, he said. I'm happy about that because of how the team is playing. We're the youngest squad in the league. We have to let them make some mistakes as they grow.
Yeah, we have yellow cards and some red cards, but I like to look at each situation differently.
Villa, Chelsea's opponents, have won 11 of their last 12 league games and 10 straight in all competitions. They've climbed to third place and are now seen as consistent after a rough start.
Unai Emery's team didn't win any of their first five league matches, and it took until the 67th minute of their fifth game at Sunderland for them to score. But they've been great since then.
Chelsea, on the other hand, has been up and down. They impressed in wins against Liverpool and Barcelona, but lost at home to Sunderland and fell apart at Leeds.
"(Being consistent) is what we need to work on," Maresca said. Winning 10 in a row in the league is really tough.
Maresca said he has a good relationship with Captain Reece James, pointing to the Christmas gift his captain sent.
You always remember the last thing. Reece sent me a great bottle of wine (on Tuesday).
Still, the England player has a way to go before being as respected as Maresca's favourite player he's coached.
"I really think Jamie Vardy is one of the best strikers in England," said Maresca, who coached Vardy for a season at Leicester. I think Jamie is a great player and a great guy. He's got a lot of heart.
JAVIER PASTORE SLAMS LIAM ROSENIOR’S "UNFAIR" SUSPENSION OF STAR ENZO FERNANDEZ
Enzo Fernandez’s agent warns Chelsea over "unfair" treatment as Real Madrid rumours swirl ahead of the World Cup.
Enzo Fernandez’s agent isn’t holding back; he just blasted Chelsea’s head coach, Liam Rosenior, and the higher-ups, calling the decision to bench Fernandez “completely unfair.” Fernandez, fresh off a World Cup win with Argentina, got punished after saying in an interview that he’d like to live in Madrid someday. Of course, that kicked off a round of speculation connecting him to Real Madrid.
His agent, Javier Pastore, who used to play for PSG, can’t believe Chelsea took such a hard line. Rosenior made it official: Fernandez won’t play in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Port Vale, or next weekend’s key Premier League meeting with Manchester City. The coach said Fernandez crossed the line when it comes to the club’s values, after talking about his interest in Spain.
But Pastore says that’s just not right. “This punishment doesn’t fit at all. You’re banning one of Chelsea’s most important players from two really crucial games that could decide if they make the Champions League,” he told The Athletic. Pastore says Fernandez is an anchor for the squad and, in his view, there’s no real justification for such a harsh response.
All this goes back to Fernandez telling an interviewer he’d like to live in Spain one day. Rosenior saw that as a distraction and disrespectful to the club, but Pastore insists his client was just honest about his lifestyle preferences, not making a pitch for a Real Madrid move. According to Pastore, Fernandez didn’t ask for this, and even though he accepted the coach’s call because he’s professional and respects the team, he still doesn’t get why it happened. “He never mentioned any club or said he wanted to leave Chelsea, not even close,” Pastore added. Fernandez only brought up Madrid because it reminds him of Buenos Aires, with the language and culture. “He never said he wanted to leave Chelsea or London,” Pastore pointed out.
And the timing couldn’t be messier. The club and Fernandez’s team have been talking about a possible contract extension for the £107 million signing, but this drama just put everything under a microscope. Pastore warned the board that if they don’t reach a new deal by the end of this summer’s World Cup, Fernandez will start looking at other clubs. That’s more pressure on a club already juggling internal issues. Pastore blamed journalists for overhyping Fernandez’s comments, insisting, “He never said he wanted to leave reporters just twisted things.”
Fernandez isn’t the only one clashing with Rosenior, either. The manager recently had to deal with Marc Cucurella’s interview about wanting to go back to Barcelona. Cucurella didn’t get suspended, but Rosenior made it clear he wasn’t happy those views went public instead of being handled inside the club. So, there’s definitely more than one fire to put out at Cobham these days.
MOISES CAICEDO SPARKS REAL MADRID TRANSFER RUMORS WITH "TIME WILL TELL" ADMISSION
Chelsea’s season hits a low point as Caicedo admits tactical struggles and refuses to rule out a Real Madrid move.
Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo isn’t exactly shutting down the rumours about a move to Real Madrid. When reporters asked if he could see himself joining Madrid one day, he dodged a firm answer. It’s a messy time for Chelsea, too, with captain Enzo Fernandez openly saying he likes Madrid and wouldn’t mind living in Spain. Fernandez got dropped for the next two games, and his agent is fuming about what he called an “unfair” decision.
It’s not helping the mood at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea just crashed out of the Champions League after four straight losses to PSG, and they’ve slipped to sixth in the league. The new manager, Liam Rosenior, is trying to pull everyone together before Saturday’s FA Cup quarterfinal against Port Vale. Still, there’s clear tension: Marc Cucurella used the international break to voice his own frustration.
Now Caicedo, another crucial player, has added to the uncertainty. Speaking to reporters in Madrid while on duty with Ecuador, he didn’t exactly hide the possibility of switching clubs: “You never really know in football, right?” he said. “I’m under contract with Chelsea, and honestly, I haven’t thought about leaving. But you just never know.”
He didn’t leave much doubt that he’s enjoying his time in London, though. “Chelsea is a great club. They’ve looked after me since I got here, and I want to give something back every game, for as long as I’m here. Time will tell.”
Caicedo has made 139 appearances since Chelsea spent £115 million to bring him in from Brighton last August. His contract runs until June 2031, which makes all the transfer talk kind of hypothetical for now, but his other quotes didn’t exactly kill the speculation.
Then there’s the coaching situation. Cucurella spoke up about how the team has struggled since Enzo Maresca left in January, and Caicedo agreed. “It’s tough. We got used to a certain style with Maresca, and Rosenior does things differently. It’s been hard to adapt,” he said. “Sometimes you adjust fast, sometimes it takes longer. Honestly, the whole team feels it right now. But we just have to push through. There’s still a lot to play for.”
