When Romeo Lavia passes the ball to Cole Palmer, who has dropped so deep he’s now in line with the young midfielder, Enzo Maresca is just about OK with the shape of things.
- Published before Newcastle 2-0 Chelsea
But when Palmer decides against recycling the play and instead jinks in between Dominic Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, risking possession, Maresca sighs internally. It works, though, and as Palmer looks up and spreads the play out to the left, the moment has passed without the disaster of the Chelsea formation being disrupted.
Only, Palmer isn’t satisfied with his role in the move, and after releasing the ball to Enzo Fernandez he decides to shatter Maresca’s tactical plans with an act of supreme violence: jogging lightly over to the left side.
Chelsea now have nobody in the middle of the pitch and in effect two left wingers; a catastrophe, though not for Jadon Sancho who, wriggling abound at the corner flag, is relieved to see Palmer four yards away. Palmer doesn’t even look up, doesn’t once think of Chelsea’s shape. He drives around the outside of Conor Bradley and glides towards the byline.
At least now he’s in a position to play the ball into the box and complete a passing move like those we’ve practiced, again and again in training, Maresca thinks. Nope. Palmer shoots from an impossible angle, catching Alisson completely off guard, and the shot cannons off the inside of the post.
It is the most thrilling moment of Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool, and it is the least Maresca-y thing Chelsea will do.
A clash of culture was always going to happen, and it’s Maresca who’s out of step. Nothing about Chelsea – not its Jose Mourinho-led 21st century history, not its glamorous rebrand in the Todd Boehly era – is aligned with a chess-master tactician and Pep Guardiola disciple.
Fans don’t want it either. They can see the relationship between the exciting first half of the campaign, when Mauricio Pochettino’s ideas weren’t yet unlearnt and Maresca would regularly shake his head at the path his players took to victory, and the congealment in the second half, when Palmer, more than anyone, stopped being fun.
It’s a mismatch that might put a full stop on the Maresca experiment no matter what happens over the next few weeks. BlueCo have not been shy pulling the trigger since buying the club three years ago and with supporters unimpressed, Maresca needs a top five finish to stand any chance of clinging onto his job.
He must let go of his principles if he wants to reinstate them, must loosen his grip to reassert it over the summer.
That of course means letting Palmer do whatever he wants. Palmer was at his best under Pochettino partly because he was given a free role but mostly because the Argentine’s football is built on a high press and fast, Marcelo Bielsa-inspired transitions; it’s football in straight lines, creating space for Palmer to exploit.
This just happens to be the best way to play Newcastle - Chelsea's next league opponent and a huge game in the battle for the top-five. Lean into an end-to-end game and Eddie Howe’s defenders will struggle to cope, just as Liverpool did.
Nottingham Forest are worse the more possession they are given, again making a direct and improvisational game more beneficial than Maresca’s slow structure, which would let Nuno Espirito Santo sit deep and counter. Ditto Manchester United, so unwieldy this season they excel only as the reactive side.
There are three games left and, tactically, none of them are suited to Maresca’s football, which means Chelsea will only succeed in their mission this season if they stop playing the football of their manager.
That isn’t exactly a vote of confidence in the current project. In fact, whether this season or next, it’s the reason why - in the unspoken war between Maresca and Palmer - there is only one winner.
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