Some Chelsea supporters remain standoffish with Enzo Maresca, even after seeing their side creep back into top four. The sense remains that Stamford Bridge regulars will take some convincing on the merits of the careful, possession-heavy nature of Marescaball. It is not exactly setting pulses racing at the moment and it was telling that the mood was far from harmonious during this win against Leicester City.
Maresca seemed to be letting out a lot of frustration when he reacted to Marc Cucurella breaking the deadlock after an hour of stodginess by gesturing angrily for fans to make more noise. The grumbling about his team’s backwards and sideways passing had struck a nerve. Then again Maresca could hardly complain if there was dissatisfaction about Chelsea labouring against opponents who look certain to return to the Championship after losing 12 of their past 13 games.
There was the excuse of Cole Palmer, who has gone nine games without a goal after spurning an early penalty, demanding to start despite diarrhoea preventing him from training for 48 hours. Yet Palmer’s queasy stomach was not the only reason for Chelsea’s attack stinking the place out at times.
Maresca also pointed to Leicester switching to a back five for the first time under Ruud van Nistelrooy, saying it forced him to change his entire plan just before kick-off. Cucurella, who was supposed to be an auxiliary midfielder, was asked to overlap more from left-back; Maresca suggested that the shifts were too subtle for outsiders to understand.
The head coach sounded impatient. Maresca, talking about his post‑goal celebrations, acknowledged that there were boos when Enzo Fernández played a backpass a few minutes before Cucurella scored.
“It’s our style,” the Italian said. “We need our fans – I said it on my Instagram two days ago. We need them behind the players because the spirit they showed today was fantastic. I completely understand when there is a negative feeling but how many chances did we create in the first half?”
Not many. He also said pointedly: “If you think football is just PlayStation and you win easy? No way. Every game is difficult.”
There was an element of Maresca deflecting attention from a pallid display. Was it really such a shock for Leicester to put numbers behind the ball? This was no revolutionary tactic. The onus was on Chelsea to react.
The saving grace was that Leicester could not make life truly uncomfortable for their former manager. They have lost their identity since Maresca left last summer and are six points below 17th-placed Wolves after their fifth successive blank. No wonder Van Nistelrooy, who looks on increasingly thin ice after taking seven points from a possible 45 since replacing Steve Cooper in November, later had the look of a manager who would not be surprised if this turns out to be his final outing. “We don’t know if we are running out of time,” Leicester’s manager said. “We know we have today and tomorrow.”
Van Nistelrooy took satisfaction from how Leicester stifled Chelsea by denying them space to run in behind. It is an issue for Maresca’s team. Their passing was slow and the only Chelsea player who looked willing to take any risks was Robert Sánchez, a surprise starter in goal a month after losing his spot in the league to Filip Jörgensen.
Leicester almost had a farcical lead when their right wing-back, James Justin, delivered a firm cross. Sánchez produced a flying air punch and Tosin Adarabioyo turned the ball against his own bar. Levi Colwill stopped Jamie Vardy from nodding the rebound into the empty net.
Chelsea were anxious. Pedro Neto had few opportunities to race through the middle. Wilfred Ndidi and Boubakary Soumaré matched Moisés Caicedo and Fernández in midfield. Jadon Sancho and Christopher Nkunku were quiet on the flanks.
Then there was Palmer, who is no longer the mooching, casual figure who destroyed defenders for fun earlier this season. What came naturally before now feels forced. There was almost an inevitability to Mads Hermansen denying Palmer after Chelsea were awarded a penalty for Victor Kristiansen’s trip on Sancho in the 19th minute.
Chelsea drifted into lethargy before half-time. Palmer, who had lost his perfect record from the spot, was weary. Hermansen repelled a drive from Nkunku but much of the play was in front of Leicester. Wesley Fofana, starting for the first time since 1 December after a hamstring injury, provided no width at right-back. Being a winger for Maresca is not easy.
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Just as the groans were growing in intensity, though, up popped a full‑back to calm the noise. Cucurella’s low drive from 20 yards slid past Hermansen and Maresca asked the fans for more positivity.
The mood remained fragile. Palmer came off earlier than usual but Leicester were too blunt to capitalise. Vardy tested Sánchez at 0-0 but an equaliser was never on the cards. Chelsea, a little uneasily, head into their trip to Arsenal with something approaching momentum.
