Enzo Maresca: 'The Club World Cup is still impacting Chelsea'

Coach Enzo Maresca acknowledged that Chelsea remains affected by the Club World Cup after their 2-2 draw with Qarabag in the Champions League group phase.

The Blues traveled over 4,000 km to Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, clearly showing signs of fatigue. Despite taking an early lead through young talent Estevao, Chelsea allowed their opponents to fight back strongly. Leandro Andrade and Marko Jankovic (penalty) scored consecutively to put Qarabag ahead 2-1 before Alejandro Garnacho shone in the second half, securing a point for the English side.

This draw caused Chelsea to drop crucial points, and Coach Maresca pointed to the congested schedule following their Club World Cup triumph in the summer as a major factor. Maresca commented: “My intention was to rest Moises (Caicedo), Enzo (Fernandez), Malo (Gusto), and some other players. They simply can't play a match every three days. The Club World Cup has had a significant impact. We have to rotate the squad. When we win, nobody talks about it, but when we draw or lose, everyone focuses on this issue.”

Chelsea recently claimed the Club World Cup 2025 title in the USA, defeating Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final, just under five weeks before the Premier League season started. According to Maresca, the lack of a proper summer break has drained the players physically. He added:

“Every time we change the lineup, we believe the plan is right. Today we started well, scoring first, but then conceded twice, including a goal when the opponent was down to 10 men. These were avoidable goals. Offensively, we need to be more efficient with our chances.”

Chelsea received more bad news as midfielder Romeo Lavia suffered an injury and had to leave the pitch early. The Belgian has played only 30 matches in over two years with Chelsea and has never completed a full 90 minutes. Maresca said: “It’s really unfortunate for him. Lavia has never managed to maintain good fitness for a long period. It’s too early to assess the injury severity, but it seems to be related to his thigh.”

This draw leaves Chelsea with 7 points, level with Qarabag, and four group matches still to play. With one loss already, the Blues cannot afford many mistakes if they want to reach the top 8 and avoid the February play-off round next year.

Maresca’s squad will return to Premier League action next Sunday (Vietnam time), hosting Wolves at Stamford Bridge, less than 72 hours after a long flight back from Europe to London. The Italian coach concluded: “The whole team is rotating. We controlled the game well in the first half, but after conceding, the team’s spirit dropped. In the second half, Chelsea performed much better. Every match is a chance for players to prove why they deserve to be here.”