Chelsea confirmed on Thursday that head coach Enzo Maresca has left the club less than six months after guiding them to Club World Cup success, with the team winning just one of their final seven Premier League matches under his leadership.
The Blues currently sit fifth in the table, 15 points behind leaders Arsenal. Maresca’s departure follows a period of mounting tension behind the scenes, despite his recent recognition as Premier League Manager of the Month for November.
After Chelsea’s most recent match, a 2–2 draw with Bournemouth on December 30, assistant manager Willy Caballero cited illness as the reason for Maresca’s absence from media duties, though it is understood the Italian was already considering his future at the club.
Sources indicate that Maresca had grown unhappy with what he perceived as interference in team selection and in-match decisions from the club’s hierarchy.
He also reportedly felt a lack of institutional support in defending the quality of his work. After Chelsea’s only league win in December, a 2–0 victory over Everton, Maresca publicly described the preceding 48 hours as the “worst” since joining the club, surprising both club officials and members of his own staff.
Chelsea now enter a critical period of the season, with players set to return to training on Friday ahead of a challenging run of fixtures.
The team faces Manchester City on Sunday, followed by matches against Arsenal and Napoli in the coming weeks, all while sitting closer in points to 15th place than to third in the league standings.
