Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was not too impressed with a few things he saw from his side on Saturday.
Chelsea took on Celtic in their second game of pre-season and lost 4-1 to Brendan Rodgers’ men.
It was a match to forget for the likes of Benoit Badiashile and Mykhailo Mudryk, who really struggled at Notre Dame Stadium.
Badiashile played a poor pass that led to one of Celtic’s goals, while Mudryk was very quiet in the first half before being taken off. Former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe recently defended Mudryk, but the Ukrainian gave his critics more ammunition with his display against the Bhoys.
Chelsea were poor as a whole, though, and Maresca has explained where they went wrong in their defeat on Saturday.
What Enzo Maresca was not happy with in Celtic defeat
Understandably, the Blues are still having a lot of teething problems under Maresca. The Italian was only appointed as the new Chelsea manager last month.
One issue seems to be the team’s defence not knowing when to maintain a high line and when to drop. According to Maresca, they did that so poorly in the loss to Celtic.
Speaking to football.london and other outlets after the game, he said: “For sure, we need many things to improve off the ball. One of the things we did bad today was when the ball was not under pressure, to maintain the high-line. When the ball is not under pressure, you need to drop.
“We still confuse some things on and off the ball. For me, it’s normal in this moment. We are trying to do something new. But for sure, game after game, training after training, we are going to be ready.”
Before the match, Rodgers predicted Maresca to do well at Chelsea. The 44-year-old has a lot of work to do if that prediction is to come true.
Enzo Maresca set to acquire new goalkeeper
The Saturday that has just gone will not be the worst in Maresca’s lifetime. It was only a friendly that Chelsea lost, while the club made significant progress in their bid to land a new goalkeeper.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are set to sign Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal.
Jorgensen was one of the standout goalkeepers in La Liga last season, making 143 saves, more than any other shot-stopper (FBref).
The 22-year-old will now be expected to compete with Robert Sanchez to be the No.1 at Stamford Bridge.
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