EPL: Maresca urges patience as Chelsea drop out of top five

Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea are improving despite an alarming slump in form that has put the Blues at risk of missing out on the Champions League for a third consecutive season.

A disappointing 2–2 draw at home to struggling Ipswich on Sunday saw Chelsea slip to sixth in the Premier League, with only a place in the top five enough to qualify for Europe’s top club competition.

Maresca’s team have won just five of their past 16 league games, tumbling down the table after a bright start to his reign.

There has been a growing revolt against the Italian’s patient, possession-based style of play among fans at Stamford Bridge during his first season in charge.

Maresca appeared to suggest that supporters influenced the decision of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to play the ball long from a goal kick, which came before Ipswich’s second goal.

Chelsea finished 12th in the 2022/23 campaign and sixth last season, and the manager believes there have been tangible signs of progress.

“I think fans have to trust us, they have to trust the team, they have to trust the club and what we are doing now,” he said on Wednesday, on the eve of the second leg of the club’s UEFA Conference League quarter-final against Legia Warsaw.

“This season we have spent almost all of it in the top four. I think it’s a big proof that the team is improving and doing the right things.

“Now, is it enough? For me, no. Because I would like to fight with this club for titles, for the Premier League, for the Champions League. But at the same time, I think we have to be realistic and see that this team, this season, is improving. It’s there in the numbers.

“Now we are not in the top five, so we are not happy. We are going to try to finish there. But it’s proof that we are doing the right things.”
Maresca could still end the season with a trophy, with Chelsea 3–0 up after the first leg of their European tie.

He is expected to make wholesale changes against the Polish side to prioritise Sunday’s trip to local rivals Fulham in the Premier League.