Chelsea fans do not need to panic – but it is clear where the Blues must improve after loss to Man City | OneFootball

Chelsea’s 2024/25 campaign did not get off to an ideal start this weekend, but it is not yet time for fans to be hitting the panic button.

After a less than impressive pre-season saw the Blues win just one of their six matches before losing out to Manchester City on the first day of the season, sections of Chelsea supporters already seem to be getting restless, expecting instant results following another summer of heavy investment.

But Chelsea could not have had a tougher opening game. While several senior City players missed the match after returning to training late from summer holidays, Guardiola was still able to name a star-studded squad.

Chelsea held their own in spite of the opposition, with Maresca’s Guardiola-inspired system showing signs of promise. The hosts found themselves trailing at half-time despite having chances to equalise, most notably through Cole Palmer when he forced a save from Ederson before the interval. The tides turned in Chelsea’s favour in the second half, with the hosts creating more expected goals, enjoying more touches in the opposition box, and winning more tackles than City, all while having less possession.

Four new signings made promising debuts in difficult circumstances, most notably Pedro Neto. The Portuguese winger, signed last week from Wolves, took over from Christopher Nkunku with half an hour remaining, offering as much threat in that time as the out-of-position Frenchman managed before him.

Where do Chelsea need to improve?

Despite the silver linings, it was far from a perfect performance, with some of last season’s issues rearing their head again. Chelsea’s midfielders once again struggled to live up to their price tags, as evidenced when Fernandez and Moises Caicedo were left in the dust by Mateo Kovacic on his way to goal.

Chelsea are just a few minor tweaks away from being a team worthy of its enormous cost. Perhaps the easiest of these is in team setup. Maresca yesterday opted for a different system to that seen in pre-season, with Nkunku lining up at left wing and paired defensive midfielders in place of an inverted full back to accommodate both Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in the starting eleven, leaving Fernandez to operate as a lone attacking midfielder.

Finding Chelsea’s best midfield combination is one of the biggest challenges facing Maresca, and he got it wrong on Sunday. Fernandez looked out of place as a number 10, floundering when faced with shooting opportunities and failing to create.

Nkunku, however, is native to the central role, excelling creatively there in his limited Chelsea appearances, but found himself shifted to the wings. To shift the Frenchman centrally would free up Fernandez to play either as a secondary ten, with less pressure to serve as an attacking outlet and splitting pressing duties, or as a deep-lying midfielder, a position better suited to his skillset and passing range. It would also allow Maresca to make better use of his left-wing options in Raheem Sterling, Neto, and Mykhailo Mudryk.

Malo Gusto proved in preseason to be an adept inverted full back, something Maresca could look to as a solution as he searches for his best starting eleven.

Another problem area which needs addressing is the striker. Looking rusty after missing pre-season due to an ankle injury sustained on international duty, Nicolas Jackson displayed both rust and last season’s nagging shortcomings. He struggled to influence the match, managing one solitary shot and straying offside as he scored what would have been a crucial equaliser. He showed bursts of potential last season but needs to sharpen up if he is to stay in contention, with Marc Guiu waiting in the wings and Chelsea still interested in signing Victor Osimhen.

Ultimately, Maresca has time to get it right, with a favourable run of fixtures allowing him plenty of opportunity to experiment. Chelsea will not face another big six team before travelling to Liverpool in late October, presented with more straightforward fixtures against Wolves, Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest in the meantime.

Maresca claims that club executives do not expect him to qualify for the Champions League this season. Whether fans are so patient remains to be seen.

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