Patience Is Beginning to Wear Thin With Maresca’s Style: How Does the Italian Save Chelsea’s Season?

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What a difference a few months can make in football. Chelsea were second on Christmas Day and only four points off league leaders Liverpool. At the time, murmurs about a title race involving the Blues and the Reds were beginning to get louder, especially as Chelsea had a run of winnable fixtures after Christmas that might propel them to the summit of the league. 

Chelsea’s Dramatic Fall 

However, Boxing Day saw the Blues lose to West London neighbours, Fulham, which was followed by a 2-0 defeat on the 30th of December to second-from-bottom Ipswich Town. It was the start of a dramatic downward spiral that has only seen Chelsea win twice in the league in 2025, as of mid-February. 

As a result of this form, Chelsea have gone from title challengers to 250/1 in the latest Premier League winner odds in fewer than 60 days. 

So, how did a high-flying Chelsea side unravel against many clubs who are favourites to go down in the latest Premiership relegation odds market? 

No Plan B

The prevailing view from the terraces of Stamford Bridge is that Chelsea have become predictable – and therefore far easier to set up against.

It’s a criticism that has followed Blues boss, Enzo Maresca, before – particularly after his Leicester City side suffered a similarly dramatic drop-off in form after Christmas during the 2023/24 campaign. Notably, Maresca’s first 25 matches in charge yielded an impressive 20 wins.

However, the remaining 21 matches of the season saw the Foxes chased down by their promotion rivals as Maresca’s side were only able to record 12 wins.

The caveat, of course, is that Leicester were able to secure promotion by winning the Championship.

Maresca might argue it was a job well done but his detractors would likely say that his lack of adaptability was masked by a healthy points cushion – one that quickly eroded once Championship managers adjusted to his style.

It’s worth keeping in mind that had Leeds United not imploded – culminating in a 4-0 defeat to West London side QPR—after clawing back a 12-point deficit to Leicester over three months, things might have turned out very differently.

While hypothetical, the wider point remains: this will sound eerily familiar to Chelsea fans who have been pleading for Maresca to move away from a possession-based style that has become easy to defend against low-block opposition. This conservative approach, where possession often moves sideways rather than forward, has seen the Blues score just nine league goals in 2025.

So, what next for the increasingly under-fire Italian? 

The answer is that Maresca is unlikely to abandon his playing style which might put him on a collision course with the majority of Chelsea’s support—who have traditionally favoured pragmatism over dogmatism. It could also lead to a clash with the club’s owners if the team’s freefall down the table continues, leaving them outside European qualification spots.

This eventuality seemed impossible when Chelsea were within striking distance of Arne Slot’s Liverpool on Christmas Day. However, their pedestrian football has seen them squander all of their early-season momentum. Unlike his time at Leicester, Maresca might not get his happy ending on this occasion.