Chelsea’s hierarchy remain fully behind Enzo Maresca’s rotation policy despite the head coach making seven changes for Wednesday’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Qarabag. The result left Maresca facing questions over his selection, but the Italian retains firm backing from the club’s leadership.
The Premier League club have assembled a deep squad to compete across four competitions and believe regular game time is essential to keep players fresh during a long season. Chelsea have changed their starting XI more than any other Premier League side this season, partly because they lacked a proper pre-season after winning last summer’s Club World Cup and have suffered injuries to key players.
Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Benoît Badiashile were unavailable against Qarabag, while Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and João Pedro have been playing with minor knocks. Maresca started Caicedo and Fernández on the bench to manage workloads, but Roméo Lavia’s early injury forced Caicedo into action.
The 5,000-mile round trip to Baku complicated preparations, with the team staying on UK time to aid recovery. Despite the draw, there is no sense at Chelsea that Maresca gambled. His careful management of Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Lavia is seen as a smart approach to ensure peak performance at crucial moments.
The club accept that inexperienced players like Jorrel Hato, Andrey Santos and Tyrique George will only adapt if given regular opportunities. Maresca works closely with the five sporting directors on managing the schedule, and the strategy of patience applies regardless of results.
