Shankul Bhandare
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca noted that his players are still adapting to his style and tactics following a 4-1 defeat to Celtic in a pre-season friendly in Indiana on Saturday.
Christopher Nkunku’s 89th-minute penalty provided the only consolation for the Premier League team at the University of Notre Dame after Mikey Johnston scored Celtic’s fourth goal. This match was Maresca’s second in charge, following a 2-2 draw with League One side Wrexham in California on Thursday.
“Off the ball, we need to improve things,” Maresca said. “You can see sometimes we confuse when we need to play short and when we need to play a little bit longer, but that is part of the process. We maintained a high line, but when the ball is not under pressure, you need to drop. We are still confusing some things on and off the ball. It is normal at this moment when we are trying to do something new.”
Chelsea had 23 shots compared to Celtic’s 14 and dominated almost two-thirds of the possession. However, Brendan Rodgers’ team were playing their fifth pre-season match, having previously beaten Manchester City 4-3.
“The result is always important,” Maresca continued. “For us, we need to analyze the game overall. On the ball, the team was 10 times better than in the game against Wrexham, which is important because we can see the number of chances we created in both halves. The result is always important, but at this moment, we need to judge and analyze different aspects. On the ball, we created chances; off the ball, we probably conceded too much, and that is something we need to improve.”
Rodgers said, “It was very pleasing when you see the level of talent Chelsea had. At any top team, you need structure, talent, and the mentality to win. I think we had that from the very first kick of the ball to the end. Everything was very synchronized—the pressing, the work in such hot conditions. I was so pleased.”
Despite the lackluster results, Maresca, 44, said his team would be ready for their Premier League opener against champions Manchester City on August 18.
