Chelsea have seen their chances of qualifying for the Champions League for next season take some major blows over the past few weeks.
The drop in their own form has contributed to them now being outside the top five of the Premier League with just six games left to go.
Results have not gone their way ahead of the West London derby with Fulham, with Manchester City and Aston Villa picking up victories.
Enzo Maresca is under pressure, and is not coming into the game with form on his side. They recently lost their 100% record in the Conference League this season with an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Legia Warsaw.
Chelsea supporters have continued to aim their frustrations at the manager as well as their players. The European defeat saw fans turn on goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen.
The most devastating blow of Saturday’s Premier League games came at Villa Park, with a player who used to perform at Stamford Bridge inflicting the wound.
Villa’s 4-1 win over Newcastle saw them leapfrog the Blues in the table, with former defender Ian Maatsen putting his side in the lead in the second half.
Maatsen joined Villa for £37m last summer, and has enjoyed far more minutes this season than he was getting during his time at Chelsea.
| Ian Maatsen PL stats | Chelsea 23/24 | Aston Villa 24/25 |
| Games | 12 | 25 |
| Goals | 0 | 1 |
| Assists | 0 | 2 |
The Blues have been left with just one option in the left-back position this season, with Renato Veiga leaving the club in January just six months after joining.
Mauricio Pochettino to blame for Maatsen’s exit
It was Mauricio Pochettino who was in charge of the club when the Dutchman was given his chance in the Chelsea first team, however minutes were not coming his way frequently.
The former manager decided he wanted to play Maatsen in a more attacking role, seemingly not trusting his ability to defend.
It was reported that Pochettino believed Maatsen was too small to make the impact he desired, with him moving on loan midway through last season to Borussia Dortmund.
While he may not have been in for regular minutes under Maresca, the Blues could be about to pay the price for letting their academy graduate leave.
