Chelsea's New Era: Maresca's 'Battle' for Team Spirit

A seemingly insignificant incident in Chelsea’s final pre-season friendly against Inter Milan last Sunday gave Enzo Maresca a glimmer of hope that the club’s squad, seemingly a collection of 43 individuals, was starting to gel into a team.

During the match, Levi Colwill was subjected to a rough tackle and grapple by Inter's veteran centre-back Francesco Acerbi, sparking a heated reaction from the Chelsea players. Most of the team rushed to their teammate’s aid, surrounding the referee, Sam Barrott.

While it was not on the scale of the notorious “Battle of the Bridge” - a violent clash between Chelsea and Tottenham eight years ago that resulted in 12 yellow cards and a hefty £600,000 fine from the Football Association - it was a positive sign for Maresca, suggesting a burgeoning sense of solidarity within his squad.

“This is the right culture,” he stated, preparing for his first competitive match in charge against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon. “I try to defend my teammates if there’s a bad intention. In one of the friendlies, one of the opponents kicked one of our players in a bad way, and all our players were around him to defend him. It doesn’t mean I get involved in the fight, but I stand close and protect my teammate.”

“To become a team you need that. You need to be close, like friends. On the pitch, you have to defend each other like brothers, otherwise, you struggle. It’s not enough to just say: ‘We’re good players, that’s enough’. It’s not enough.”

Maresca’s efforts to forge a cohesive unit have been hampered, at least in the short term, by Chelsea’s new, and perhaps controversial, approach to player recruitment under the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital regime. The club’s transfer activity has drawn comparisons to the frenzied shopping sprees of the 1990s game show “Supermarket Sweep”. With nine new signings this summer - Maresca is still looking to add another forward in either João Félix or Victor Osimhen - Chelsea’s overall squad size has ballooned to 53, including players currently out on loan.

Chelsea insists their data-driven approach to recruitment will yield success, and by targeting young players, they have significantly reduced their wage bill to an average of £70,000 per week. However, true success hinges on improvement on the pitch, and this is where Maresca steps in. The Italian has impressed club staff with his decisive and clear-minded approach.

Unlike his predecessors, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino, who attempted to maintain a harmonious squad, Maresca has been ruthless. He has forced players deemed surplus to requirements, such as Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Armando Broja, and Romelu Lukaku, to train individually. While Ben Chilwell has been permitted to train with the team, the vice-captain was given a public reminder of his place in the pecking order when Maresca confirmed it would be beneficial for the England left-back to find a new club as his playing time would be limited.

Marc Cucurella is expected to start ahead of Chilwell against City, Malo Gusto will be deployed at right-back due to Reece James’ hamstring injury, and Colwill is likely to partner Wesley Fofana in central defence. Roméo Lavia and Enzo Fernández emerged as Maresca’s preferred central midfield pairing during pre-season, but given the squad’s depth and versatility, Chelsea’s attacking lineup remains a mystery. Noni Madueke, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, and new signing Pedro Neto are all in contention, with Cole Palmer the only confirmed starter.

With Gallagher and Chilwell essentially frozen out, Maresca has a relatively inexperienced squad at his disposal. This might be a boon for a hands-on coach like Maresca, who, like his Sunday opponent Pep Guardiola, thrives on guiding his players through every stage of the game.

“I like the age,” Maresca said. “They’re full of talent. But talent isn’t enough, we need more. This is why we’re trying to build a culture, both on and off the pitch.”

At just 22 years old, and after one season of regular Premier League action, Palmer already appears to be Chelsea’s most important player, though Maresca acknowledges that he cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of creativity and goalscoring alone. Following an extraordinary breakout campaign that yielded 27 goals and 15 assists across all competitions, Maresca believes this season might be more challenging for Palmer.

“When you score 20 goals in a season, it’s always hard to replicate, whether you’re Cole Palmer or even Erling Haaland,” he said. “It’s difficult. With Palmer, we need to ensure the responsibility for goals is shared with the other wingers and attacking midfielders. It’s not all on Cole’s shoulders.”

“We play with two wingers, two attacking players, and a No 9. So, these five players are responsible for scoring goals and assisting their teammates. The wingers, the attacking players, and the number nine are in charge of scoring goals.”

The corresponding fixture last November, a thrilling eight-goal encounter, was one of the highlights of the season, and Maresca enjoyed watching it from his home near Leicester, although he would prefer not to witness a similar spectacle on Sunday. “I was watching at home and it was fantastic, although as a manager, I don’t like conceding goals,” he said. “I don’t want to concede four.”