Inside Enzo Maresca’s selection plan as Chelsea identity target explained
Chelsea have been afforded the luxury of a fully fit squad for Enzo Maresca to select from this season since he was appointed as the club’s head coach.
It’s been a welcome change at Cobham following an injury-hit couple of years at Chelsea, which started in November 2021 when Ben Chilwell suffered a serious knee injury.
Fortune did not go Chelsea's way during Mauricio Pochettino’s year-long time at Chelsea. The club’s official injury list, which was communicated before every game, became an unwelcome sight, with double digit absentees down to injury or fitness related problems a regular occurrence.
Without jinxing Maresca and Chelsea, it’s been a healthier season for the squad. The Italian has had limited numbers sidelined, proving to help him when selecting his squads for the various competitions they’ve competed in so far this season - Premier League and Conference League.
Given the overhaul of the squad and recruitment, Maresca has been able to field two different teams for the league and cup. It has given him the opportunity to manage workloads and the returns of injuries, whilst also sharing the minutes across the team to offer every player the opportunity to impress and stake their claim.
Chelsea have won both of their Conference League matches this season after progressing into the League Phase, scoring four goals in both games against KAA Gent and Panathinaikos.
Against Panathinaikos, Mudryk, who was left out of the matchday squad against Liverpool, impressed with a goal and two assists on his return to the side.
With every player vying for minutes and Maresca limited to starting only 11 of his group, competition is fierce.
The squad will once again heavily change for Sunday’s league clash against Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The likes of Cole Palmer, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson, who all didn’t travel to Greece, are expected to regain their place in the team.
Despite the general approach being for Maresca to have two teams, the Chelsea head coach isn’t fazed about the difficulty of leaving players out and believes it’s a positive for the Blues to have a squad full of depth and quality to compete across all the competitions.
“What we want is exactly what they are doing; taking the chance when we give them the chance,” Maresca said after Chelsea’s 4-1 win in Athens. “Now, tonight, once again they show that.
"If we want to be there and want to compete, we need all the players doing the right things. They are doing that and that is important for us.
“For sure, Sunday now we are going to make changes because we have more players but the important thing is they perform in the right way and the identity of the team continues to be the same."
