Manager Enzo Maresca suggested Chelsea’s early-season form at the Club World Cup may be catching up with them, following their 2-2 draw with Qarabag in the Champions League. The Blues fell behind 2-1 on their trip to Azerbaijan, but managed to pick up a point. Estevao Willian gave Chelsea an early lead, sparking hopes of success for the West London club.
However, Maresca soon realized that his team was in despair by letting their opponent back into the match. Leandro Andrade equalized after a defensive lapse by Llorel Hato, but the former Ajax star was adjudged for a handball violation. Marko Janković converted a penalty, but substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored to give Chelsea a point.
Maresca made seven changes to the line-up that won against Tottenham, citing the Club World Cup campaign as a factor in his decision. He also criticized elements of Chelsea’s performance at both ends of the pitch.
“The big difference for me today was in the box,” Maresca said. “The goal we conceded was a stupid goal for me. In their box, we weren’t clinical enough for the number of times we arrived. So this is a big difference for me.”
Maresca defended his team selection, adding: “The Club World Cup has a big impact. We are trying to rotate. When you win, no one talks about it. When you don’t win, everyone focuses on it. I think it’s important now to recover our energy for Saturday and fight again.”
Chelsea captain Reece James was similarly scathing of his team’s defense, pinpointing the mistakes that led to the Blues’ poor performance.
The 25-year-old suggested the team’s backline was a broader issue and that rival teams did not need to play spectacular football to break through Chelsea’s defence.
“To sum it up, it’s disappointing,” James said. “Coming here, we wanted to win. We felt we prepared strongly, but we made two mistakes that led to the penalty and the goal we gave. After that, it’s hard to get back into the game.”
“Their fans were very good tonight. The pitch was difficult to play on, but this is what we expected and we didn’t fully adapt.”
“Two mistakes led to two goals. It’s difficult when the flow of the game changes. We just didn’t do enough. There were some chances we didn’t take and the responsibility is only on ourselves.”
“If you look at the goals we conceded, it wasn’t because of great play, it was more because of our mistakes, and that’s something we need to cut back on.”
