Maresca The Tinkerman: Does He Know His Best Team?

Maresca The Tinkerman: Does He Know His Best Team?

Enzo Maresca has proven himself to be a more than capable manager. Twice a trophy winner last season with Chelsea, the relatively unproven Italian ended the campaign with both Europa Conference League and Club World Cup winners medals around his neck, proving that with him at the helm, Chelsea can become serial winners again.

One year ago maresca become a Chelsea manager
- UCL Qualification
- conference league winner
- club World Cup winner
- 137 goals scored in all competitions

On a scale of 1-10 , how would you rate his 1 year tenure ? pic.twitter.com/HLX8OPwTPe

— OB (@CFC_OBED) July 25, 2025

However, the Blue’s surprising draw with a Brentford side tipped for a relegation battle this weekend saw him field a heavily rotated XI, which saw him rest the likes of Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Willian Estavao.

As a result, questions have started to be asked of the Pep Guardiola's former protégé - does he know his strongest line-up? Was he thinking ahead to the Blues’ opening Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night? Or was it simply a case that he thought a weakened team could still come back with all three points?

Lets dive in …

The Tale of Two Halves

Your Chelsea XI tonight! 👊#CFC | #BRECHE pic.twitter.com/6r3OQN4VI1

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 13, 2025

In their place came new signing Jorrel Hato, making his first start for the club, Wesley Fofana in an unfamiliar right back role after returning from another injury, and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who has flattered to deceive in his handful of cameos up to this point. New loan signing Facundo Buonanotte also started behind Joao Pedro, occupying the Brazilian’s favourite spot.

The core of the team remained the same; Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo started in midfield, while Trevoh Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo maintained their starting spots in defence - but with those on the periphery drastically altered, there was bound to be a few teething problems.

It showed when Brentford landed the first blow - Kevin Schade slotting the ball through Tosin’s legs to give the Bees’ the upper hand - and took the lead into half time. Maresca, smelling danger, immediately introduced regular starters Cucurella and Reece James, as well as the energetic Tyrique George, who has proved himself to be an impact player off the bench.

COLE PALMER SCORES ON HIS RETURN FROM INJURY 🥶 pic.twitter.com/G5miOGQafg

— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 13, 2025

The result? Unsurprisingly, Chelsea started to take the game by the scruff of the neck, and when Maresca sent on Cole Palmer 10 minutes after the break, Chelsea started to present Brentford with some tricky questions.

Palmer coolly slotted home just four minutes after his introduction, and it appeared Chelsea were well and truly on the path to victory. Chances for Pedro Neto and another for Palmer could have seen them ease away, but eventually, a missile from Moises Caicedo five minutes from time gave the Blues their long awaited lead.

Moises Caicedo on repeat 🔁 pic.twitter.com/upevoabcsj

— Premier League (@premierleague) September 13, 2025

However, Brentford away is a notoriously tricky fixture for Premier League teams, and eventually Chelsea’s first half deficit came back to bite them via a long throw. Scorer of the first goal, Schade launched the ball into a chaotic penalty area in the third minute of added time, where Jordan Henderson rose above a quartet of Chelsea players to win the aerial duel.

Waiting at the back post was Fabio Carvalho to tap in, and seemingly from nowhere Chelsea had suddenly let two crucial points slip from their grasp. Favourites to take all three points home, Maresca and co. had been undone by a shaky team selection, highlighted by the fact that they performed infinitely better in the second period than in the first.

FÁBIO CARVALHO SCORES FOR BRENTFORD!

BRENTFORD 2-2 CHELSEA!

pic.twitter.com/NwWjN8V4E7

— Curiosities Foot (@CuriositiesFoot) September 13, 2025

So why did Maresca decide to twist rather than stick?

International Break

Of course, the first game back after the international break always presents the manager some problems. Exciting youngster Willian Estavao had recently played half an hour at over 4,000 metres above sea level (almost half the height of Mount Everest), while Palmer was returning from an injury sustained in the warm up against West Ham three weeks ago.

To make matters worse, Cucurella played two full games while on International duty with Spain, and Reece James also completed over two hours of football during England’s victories over Andorra and Serbia.

Fantastic cross by Reece James - assist for Rice on England duty.

Hope he can give this kind of service to Pedro and Delap this season! pic.twitter.com/iVy5Qwq2tV

— Chris Riley (@CFCriley2) September 9, 2025

The season is long, and Maresca was probably right to not play them from the outset. However, it came at a detriment to the team. Hato looked out of his depth in Cucurella’s spot, while Fofana, playing out of position at right back, looked well short of fitness. It spoke volumes that when those who played in international duty came on, Chelsea looked a far better side.

Squad Rotation

Another necessary part of managing game time, Maresca was almost certainly opting to rest his key players ahead of Chelsea’s first Champions League fixture in midweek, where they visit the hostile environment and high quality of Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, where the club won their first Champions League in 2012.

With the club back in the highest echelons of European competition, Maresca must ensure that the game time of each and every squad member is managed carefully, in order to give himself flexibility later on in the season.

Concede a 93rd-minute equalizer, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 charges, then just the small matter of going to Bayern Munich...

Tough seven-day stretch for Chelsea 😬 pic.twitter.com/IcxDCp4qQ9

— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 13, 2025

However, after trailing at the break, the Italian threw caution to the wind by introducing two of the first names on the team sheet in Cucurella and James - this underlined the fact that while Chelsea have exceptionally strong squad depth, the second string players cannot be entirely relied upon to bring home a result.

Does Maresca Know his Strongest XI?

And now we come to the crux of the question - does Maresca know his best lineup? On the surface of things, he does. In two of their first three games, Maresca named an unchanged side, consisting of Sanchez (GK), Cucurella, Tosin, Chalobah, Gusto; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Joao Pedro, Willian Estavao; Delap.

However, with injuries to Colwill, Palmer and now Delap, as well as the ever-fluctuating fitness levels of Reece James, Maresca has at times needed to be creative with his starting lineup. And going off last season, he is a coach who frequently chops and changes depending on the set up and approach of the opposition.

🚨 Chelsea Depth Chart 🚨

Formation: 4231
Injuries:
- Liam Delap (2 months)
- Levi Colwill (6 months) pic.twitter.com/dSc8osVRFJ

— The Blue Co. Project Podcast (@BlueCoProject) September 3, 2025

Across 38 league games last season, Maresca fielded an unchanged XI in two consecutive games just five times, and never reached three - suspensions and injuries always meant that the coach was forced to think outside the box. Thus, youngsters such as Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong were bedded into the first team, while Caicedo at times had to leave the comfort of midfield in order to put in a shift at right-back, a role which he filled admirably.

As of right now, Chelsea’s strongest XI sees Sanchez in goal, Cucurella and Reece James on either side of Chalobah and Tosin in the centre of defence, while Fernandez and Caicedo are given their usual midfield roles.

In front of them, Pedro Neto’s form means he has to start on the right, while Cole Palmer is given the license to roam in the number 10 role, with Willian Estavao running the flank with his typical youthful exuberance.

Through the absence of Delap until at least early December, Joao Pedro is the obvious choice to fill in at striker, and while it is not his natural position (this being Cole Palmer's number 10 role), he is a more than suitable replacement while Chelsea wait for Delap to return to full fitness.

5 - João Pedro has been directly involved in five goals in four Premier League games for Chelsea (two goals, three assists); the only player to reach five goal involvements in fewer games for the Blues in the competition is Eden Hazard (3). Impact. pic.twitter.com/8VwwZy7K9R

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 13, 2025

This is the lineup we can expect at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night. It is the set up that provides Maresca’s side with the most balance, while it also gives license to the attackers to be unpredictable - with Palmer, Neto and Estavao sitting behind the Brazilian flair of Joao Pedro, there is no shortage of creativity in the front line.

However, for league games, Maresca needs to find the same balance across his back up players. It is no good having players on the bench that cannot adequately fill a role vacated by a typical first teamer - reliable performance from a squad with as much depth as Chelsea’s is a must if they are to be competing for silverware come May.

However, after one poor performance, it is too much of a jump to say that Maresca doesn’t know his strongest lineup. He was forced into rotation by both injuries and international responsibilities, a problem which every manager encounters at some point in the season - moreover, the lineup for the visit to Bayern Munich looks fairly predictable.

Instead, we believe it is a matter of him figuring out what system will work for the backup players at his disposal, instead of throwing them into the same system as the first team and hoping they figure it out on the job.

Maresca is obviously an exceptionally talented coach - he has Chelsea playing like themselves again, and should he be given more time than his numerous predecessors, then he could lead the side to new heights. However, a manager’s style cannot simply fit the first team - every player at the club must know their role and how they fit in at the club.