New Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said his players “confuse” which type of pass to play and must “improve many things” off the ball after their 4-1 defeat to Celtic in Indiana.
The Blues had only Christopher Nkunku’s 89th-minute penalty to show for the second friendly of their US tour, having drawn 2-2 with third-tier side Wrexham in California on Wednesday.
“On the ball, the team was 10 times better than we were against Wrexham because we can see the number of chances we had,” said Maresca, who left Leicester City to take over at Stamford Bridge on June 3.
“Off the ball, for sure, we need to improve things. You can see sometimes we confuse when we need to play short and when we need to play a little bit longer, but that is part of the process.”
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— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 27, 2024
Chelsea vs Celtic: ‘We struggled’
Chelsea had 23 of the 34 attempts and 57 per cent of possession but missed several presentable chances on their way to falling 2-0 behind after 33 minutes, which Maresca partly put down to the greater number of games the reigning Scottish champions had already played in their warm-up schedule, including a win over Manchester City on Wednesday.
“You can see they had already played four games in pre-season and they are starting their official season very soon,” said Maresca. “Whereas for us, we struggled a little bit physically.
“The biggest difference with us and them was the physical condition… some of our players have only played 45 minutes, so the difference was huge.”
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— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 27, 2024
Chelsea results: US tour
The result may concern Blues fans scrutinising a team bidding to improve upon an underwhelming 2023/24 campaign under Mauricio Pochettino, when only a late strong run earned Chelsea sixth place and Uefa Europa Conference League qualification courtesy of Manchester United’s surprise FA Cup triumph.
“We need to improve many things off the ball,” accepted Maresca. “One of the things we did badly today was when the ball was not under pressure, we maintained a high line. But when the ball is not under pressure, you need to drop.
“We are still confusing some things on the ball and off the ball. It is normal in this moment when we are trying to do something new. Game by game and training session after training session, we are going to be ready.”
Veiga in Blue. 🔵#BluesInTheUSA pic.twitter.com/hacGSKmLfv
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 27, 2024
Chelsea fixtures, schedule
Chelsea play Mexican side Club America in Georgia on Thursday (12.30am BST), City in Ohio on Saturday (10.30pm) and Real Madrid in Charlotte on August 7 (12am) before returning to England for a home friendly against Inter Milan four days later (3pm).
Former Cityzens assistant coach Maresca’s first competitive match in charge will be at home to the reigning Premier League champions on August 18 (4.30pm).
