“The result is always important but in this moment we need to judge and analyse different things. On the ball we created chances, off the ball we probably conceded too much and that is something we need to improve.”
Maresca was once again pressed on his team’s habit of conceding after their 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the final game of their US tour, which took their total to a worrying 12 goals conceded in only five games. The Italian did explain that his team’s very high defensive line was “a habit from last year” and that he would hopefully solve it soon.
“It’s a problem we are trying to solve from pre-season, since day one,” said the 44-year-old. “One of my first meetings with the squad was about the amount of goals we conceded last year with the defensive line very high.
“It’s something we are trying to work on. Today, offensively, we are there – the patterns are there. We created chances. The problem is defensively; when I say defensively I don’t just mean the defensive line, but in general, all the players.”
He added: “It’s a habit. We are not working on defensive lines so high. It’s a habit from last year, or years ago; I don’t know. We are trying to drop the defensive line a little bit, usually about four or five metres, just to have some advantage.
“Last year, we already conceded many goals with this problem. Hopefully we can solve it very soon.”
Amid the concerns going into the new season that the Premier League’s best would put Chelsea well and truly to the sword, the west London club have made big strides in that particular area and have now kept two clean sheets on the bounce. Their latest shutout came in Saturday’s comfortable 3-0 win away at West Ham.
On a day when Chelsea were very impressive and could have scored more, West Ham offered very little in an attacking sense as Robert Sanchez had a fairly quiet afternoon between the sticks. Maresca quite clearly has a preferred backline and the likes of Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella are starting to develop a good understanding with the more time they have on the pitch together.
Chelsea may have been a tad lucky at Bournemouth the previous week after seeing Evanilson miss a golden chance from the penalty spot but they dug in deep to frustrate the Cherries and give themselves the perfect platform to go on and win the game. The Blues are looking strong defensively at present, which comes as good news to all connected with the club, especially going on Maresca’s comments in pre-season stating that his team will concede goals due to their desire to build out from the back.
As eye-catching as Chelsea’s attacking play has been in some of their recent games, one big plus point is their defensive work after those major scares in Maresca’s first few games in charge. Long may it continue.
