Too Much Pep in His Step? The Guardiola Blueprint Behind Enzo Maresca

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca and his team suffered a killer 90+5 minute equaliser at the hands of Brentford’s Fabio Carvalho last night, marking their second draw of the season, however puzzling team sheet changes, and stubborn tactics may have been the sole reason for their loss. The Pep Guardiola disciple has already begun to show signs of applying what he learned from the Man City boss, however constant rotation is one aspect that Maresca needs to cut out quickly.

Last night after going 1-0 down, the response from Chelsea was immaculate, scoring two well set up goals, and comfortably getting themselves back ahead in a game they should have under control. However a last gasp equaliser wasn't subject to poor defending or sloppy play, however the game could have been put to bed earlier had he put out his strongest squad.

One thing we have seen from all of Pep Guardiola’s apprentices during their managerial careers is avid squad rotation. We see it by Arteta at Arsenal, and we are now seeing it with Maresca at Chelsea, but last night highlights why rotating pointlessly isn't always the smart option. Sure Chelsea have an important Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich ahead on Wednesday, however emphasis on the league is always important, and rotating for the sake of tournaments isn't always a smart idea. 

Replacing both fullbacks last night, starting new signing Jorell Hato and Wesley Fofana, benching arguably two of the best fullbacks in the league in Marc Cucurella and Reece James was a big risk given that 19 year old Hato had not played a Premier League game before, and Fofana who isn't as creative as a full back in a system like Maresca’s. Starting Fofana and Hato meant the fluidity of their wing play and reliance on full backs getting forward wasn't a viable option, and was all around an odd decision by the former Leicester boss.

Also replacing star winger Estevao with Jamie Bynoe-Gittens ideally wasn't the best move ever, and after how the Brazilian youngster performed last week, you would think his creativity would be perfect for a game like last night where Chelsea had to dig deep to get in front. One thing which also stood out was Facundo Buonanotte’s inexperience at the highest level. It showed leaps and bounds of improvement when Cole Palmer replaced him late in the game, and although the decision to give Palmer some time to fully recover from injury, the decision to start Buonanotte over other proven players was a mistake.

Even though rotating was in order ahead of the Champions League fixture, it is always important to maintain league stature, and no matter how much depth a team has, performing in Premier League games should never be a secondary priority. The worry going ahead with Chelsea is rotation becoming more and more frequent, not allowing players to gel and create chemistry, and going forward, a clear starting 11 needs to be formed, and a culture in Chelsea amongst the strongest players, not just a constant roulette of teams.