Enzo Maresca admits Chelsea 'tried something new for next season' during Flamengo defeat

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Evening Standard

·20 giugno 2025

Enzo Maresca admits Chelsea 'tried something new for next season' during Flamengo defeat

The Blues were second-best during their Friday loss at the Club World Cup

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Enzo Maresca admitted he “tried something new” during Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat to Flamengo.

The Blues were favourites to beat their Brazilian opponents in Philadelphia but gave up a 1-0 lead through Pedro Neto as they lost 3-1 to throw their chances of making the Club World Cup knockout stages into jeopardy.

Flamengo’s first two goals came within the space of three minutes to turn the game on its head, before striker Nicolas Jackson earned a straight red card for a reckless challenge just one minute later, and four minutes after being introduced from the substitutes’ bench.

That dismissal came a little over a month after he was sent off for a similarly needless challenge in the Premier League defeat to Newcastle.

“Unfortunately, we conceded two goals in a very short period, a very short moment — and then the red card,” Maresca said. “Then it’s very complicated to come back into the game. We tried, but congratulations to them.”

Speaking about his side’s performance, the Chelsea head coach said: “Congratulations to them; I think they deserved to win.

“I think we tried to do something different during the game, also for next season, but congratulations to them. Now we have one more game, and we are going to try to win the next one.”

Maresca would not be drawn on whether the trial had backfired.

“No, I’m not saying this,” he said. “I’m saying that we tried something new.”

Asked whether he had spoken to Jackson about the red card he received, Maresca replied: “No, to be honest. It was a red card, so there is nothing to say.”