Maresca’s Chelsea Record Was Better Than Benítez and Mourinho’s Second Spell as Manager
Enzo Maresca’s sacking at Chelsea came at the end of a poor spell of form up to that point, but his tenure at the club hasn’t been as bad as recent results make out. Although many fans seemed to have grown tired of the Italian, he’s arguably been one of the best appointments in recent years.
Maresca’s win record is the best since Thomas Tuchel was in the dugout. It was also better than Rafael Benítez’s stint from 2012 to 2013 and José Mourinho’s second spell with the club from 2013 to 2015. There’s a strong chance that Chelsea may end up regretting not giving Maresca more time.
Maresca’s Sacking Could Affect Chelsea’s Top Four Chances
Maresca was the first Chelsea manager since Tuchel to qualify for the Champions League, and it appeared that the Blues were heading in the same direction this season. Now, though, according to the latest Premiership odds, they are 15/8 to finish in the top four at the time of writing.
Indeed, today’s football odds now favour Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Liverpool to finish as the top four teams in the league, meaning that Chelsea are outsiders. For the first part of the season, Maresca’s charges had appeared to be cruising towards Champions League qualification, but the tide turned after their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Leeds United in early December.
From that point, a handful of negative results caused Maresca’s relationship with the fans and the board to sour, and the situation ultimately became untenable. Chelsea may live to regret this, however, as a managerial change halfway through the season could upset the team’s rhythm even more and their top four chances could slip away.
Maresca’s Win Percentage Was Solid
Maresca had a promising start to life at Chelsea, and given more time, he could have built something. Along with qualifying for the Champions League at the first time of asking, the former Leicester City man won the Conference League in the 2024-25 season.
He ended his 92-match run with a win percentage of 59.78, which was just shy of Tuchel’s 60 per cent win rate. Benitez only managed to register a percentage of 58.33 during his time in charge, while Mourinho’s second spell ended with 58.82 per cent of games won.
Maresca’s sacking is something that Chelsea fans are used to, with the club having been through seven different managers in the last eight years. Things take time in the world of football management, though, and it doesn’t always click straight away. Teams like Arsenal and Aston Villa have discovered that sticking with the same manager even through rough patches can yield positive returns down the line. This is something that Chelsea may need to learn if they are ever to challenge for the title again.
Maresca was one of the most promising managers that Chelsea have had in the last few years. Deciding to part ways with the Italian could turn out to be a mistake, as it could derail the club’s chances of a top four finish.
