'People need to understand the effort Palmer made to be there' - Marescapublished at 16:45 9 March
16:45 9 March
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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We needed to change the plan before the warm-up and this is why we are so happy because we adapted. Don't forget that Leicester against Arsenal for 80 minutes was 0-0. It's not easy. We created enough to be one goal ahead of them.
"The Leicester keeper is brilliant and Cole [Palmer] is going to score more penalties and miss more. He didn't feel well in the night. The people need to understand the effort he made to be there. Cole is a top player. Everything is normal now.
"We have two goalkeepers. The idea is not to change them. We changed in the past but hopefully not in the future.
"We won the game, we are happy. We still have 10 games to go. We are there."
Cucurella sends Chelsea back into top fourpublished at 16:41 9 March
16:41 9 March
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Image caption,
Marc Cucurella scored his fifth goal of the season
It wasn't pretty, but it didn't need to be.
Chelsea moved back into the top four of the Premier League table with a narrow 1-0 win against Leicester City at Stamford Bridge.
Marc Cucurella's second-half strike was enough for the Blues to leapfrog Manchester City.
Enzo Maresca won't want to dwell too long on the performance, with the Blues proving unconvincing for long periods.
Cole Palmer's goalless run stretched to nine matches after he had a penalty saved by Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen midway through the first half.
The playmaker's last goal came in mid-January and he was taken off with 17 minutes remaining at Stamford Bridge.
With rivals Bournemouth and Manchester City dropping points this weekend, a win was all that mattered for Chelsea.
But they will likely have to improve the quality of their displays if they're to keep a spot in the top four.
'We need to stay together' - Cucurellapublished at 16:36 9 March
16:36 9 March
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Chelsea goalscorer Marc Cucurella speaking to Sky Sports: "We know that we need to defend with everything and today the team showed a lot of passion.
"I think Enzo passed me the ball and I see that I have the option to shoot. Normally I wouldn't but I tried. We got the three points and we want to fight for the objectives.
"I'm really happy. I think it's a long process, I needed to work really hard in my bad moments. Maybe something I need to improve is being more clinical in the final third.
"In the last minute we showed energy and the fans helped us in our tough moments when we're a bit tired. We defend the same club and we need to stay together. The support is very important when things go not well."
Did you know?published at 16:25 9 March
16:25 9 March
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Cole Palmer extended his goal drought in the Premier League to seven games and 683 minutes, with the forward's five shots against Leicester meaning he has had 29 shots since last finding the net against Bournemouth in January.
Chelsea 1-0 Leicester - send us your thoughtspublished at 16:00 9 March
Sutton's predictions: Chelsea v Leicesterpublished at 11:00 9 March
11:00 9 March
After beating Southampton last time out, this feels like another 'gimme' for Chelsea, and just when they needed it.
With the two teams immediately above them, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, playing each other on Saturday, Chelsea could end up as high as third if they win this and, let's face it, they are very likely to take the three points.
I am sure Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca will say lots of nice things about his former club but he will be absolutely desperate to pump them here.
I think they will win easily, too. I feel sorry for Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy because he has been dealt a terrible hand, and in the background there is frustration from the Foxes fans about the running of the club.
It feels like there was muddled thinking from the club's owners to appoint Van Nistelrooy, based on the fact he had beaten them while he was in caretaker charge of Manchester United.
Lots of managers could have got the job if that was the criteria. I would even have fancied my Lincoln City team from a few years back to have beaten Leicester this season so I could have ended up manager there.
I guess that shows any unhappy fans that things could always be worse.
Chelsea v Leicester: Life with and without Marescapublished at 14:04 8 March
14:04 8 March
Before Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca hosts his former side Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, we asked our fan writers for each club to answer question about the Italian coach.
How have you found life with Maresca?
Ross: It has been a tale of two seasons so far. While much of the focus has been on Chelsea's decline in attacking output - and perhaps unfairly on Cole Palmer given the continual reliance on him - so far Maresca's style of play has left the defence consistently vulnerable, even before considering the poor play from our goalkeepers. His team creating chances has not been the problem at least, finishing them has.
How have you found life without Maresca?
Kate: It's been very tough and challenging and having two managers so far this season hasn't helped. We had a plan in place with Enzo to take us through the next few years, a style of football where everyone was engaged, and we had the correct personnel to take this forward. The replacement of Enzo with Steve Cooper was an about turn on this style of football and therefore upon the transfer policy, leaving us with a real mixed bag of personnel for different styles of play. We have therefore struggled to find an identity and a successful way of playing this season.
What mistakes has he made at Chelsea?
Ross: Maresca has been late to change things around in games not going our way and seldom changes formations, generally only swapping his wingers around.
Madueke, Sancho, Neto, Felix and Nkunku have all had spells of poor play, but it feels like he has missed a trick by not utilising Palmer on the right to present opponents with different problems.
The outcome has been the departure of Felix, while Nkunku has had little opportunity to find form just when he is needed most.
What are the typical mistakes or annoyances at Leicester?
Kate: Individual errors have hampered our performances this season and these have mainly come from the defence. We haven't addressed these and still concede over two goals per game. This has been a season-long frustration. However, since Ruud's appointment, the goals have also completely dried up due to the cautious style of play and we have only scored four goals in the last 12. These on pitch frustrations have led to fan frustrations directed towards the club board, which have boiled over in the form of a fan protest. Things do not seem cohesive.
Chelsea v Leicester: Can Maresca kick a side on?published at 14:03 8 March
14:03 8 March
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Before Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca hosts his former side Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, we asked our fan writers for each club to answer question about the Italian coach.
Is he the man to guide Chelsea's future?
Ross: The jury is out on this one and it is concerning that the attack has dropped off as opponents have keyed in on our style of play.
This is not only on the players' backs as it seems as if they are not coached in the art of being compact when needed.
However, it is still early in Maresca's reign and the current recruitment team has only hit on Palmer and Moises Caicedo thus far while there are still deficiencies in at least three positions.
Would he have kept Leicester up?
Kate: Most fans would agree that the style of football under Enzo, with the personnel that we had, would've made our Premier League survival hopes very slim. Possession based football with slow build up play means that you rely upon your team to keep the ball - Leicester are not very good at this. So he would have been up against it and would have needed a gem of a transfer window to make this work. Otherwise a plan B would have been required and I am not sure we ever saw that Enzo had this in his repertoire.
How far can he take the Blues?
Ross: Arguably more concerning than the league form were the insipid displays in the cup defeats at Newcastle and Brighton and the poor messaging from Maresca that accompanied them.
There is tempering expectations and then there is excusing one's players from properly applying themselves.
Players pay attention to what their managers say and even if we are to win the Conference League, the mentality has to be right to win major honours.
As a Foxes fan, do you think he will succeed at Chelsea?
Kate: I think he will obtain European football each year and in some competitions have a really good run. However, like Leicester, I think that certain things need to be sorted behind the scenes with transfer policies and recruitment. In the Premier League, I think there are better teams that can play his style of football and achieving top four will be tough but doable. A bad run of results at the wrong time can also lead to a sacking, so he is up against it for sure, but I wish him well.
Maresca backs Palmer to end goal droughtpublished at 18:40 7 March
18:40 7 March
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Cole Palmer has been a shining light for Chelsea in his almost two seasons at the club and scored 22 league goals in his debut campaign.
This season, the England international has netted 14 times but his last goal came in mid-January while he last registered an assist on 1 December in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was calm about the lack of goal involvements that Palmer has produced over recent weeks and said: "When you score a goal you are probably more happy, also because your goals help the team to win but overall Cole is fine.
"He's happy, he knows that he struggled to score goals in this moment but he is also aware that it is something normal and during a season it can happen. Watching him during the training session, he is fine and looks fantastic."
Is there a pattern to seasons under Maresca?published at 16:52 7 March
16:52 7 March
Nicola Pearson BBC Sport journalist
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Spring has arrived and Chelsea will be hoping the shift of meteorological season will mark a change in their fortunes too.
A difficult winter period saw them pick up just three wins from 10 Premier League games after Christmas and exit the FA Cup in the fourth round.
Prior to the festive period, Enzo Maresca's side had been second in the table, at that point the closest challengers to now runaway leaders Liverpool.
However, the Blues boss had repeatedly insisted that his young team - the youngest in the league - were not true contenders for the title.
Whether that dampening of expectations filtered into the mindsets of the players themselves is hard to know, but it has ultimately proved true as Chelsea's form and league position took a tumble. Now, they are in a fight for European football.
Injuries to key players during this spell has inevitably played a part, but should a drop-off have always been expected?
While he has had a number of assistant coaching roles, Maresca is still relatively new in the managerial hotseat.
Prior to taking charge of Leicester in July 2023, the Italian had only had one other role as manager - a brief 14-match spell in charge of Italian side Parma between May and November 2021 where he was ultimately sacked.
After 12 months assisting Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Maresca was tasked with taking relegated Leicester back to the top flight at the first time of asking - and that he did.
Image caption,
As the graphic shows, Leicester struggled to accumulate points at the same rate as the first half of the season
He could not have asked for a better start, dropping points only once in his first 14 games and going on to win 19 matches, drawing once and losing just three by the halfway mark at Christmas.
It meant the Foxes were picking up 2.3 points per game, sat top of the table and had a 13-point gap to third-placed Leeds United.
However, the following 23 matches were bumpier and they even dropped out of the automatic promotion places at the end of March.
They recovered to win the Championship in the penultimate game, but that post-Christmas drop-off saw their points per game record nearly halve down to 1.7.
It has been a similar story for Maresca's Chelsea.
Ten wins, two defeats and five draws brought up 35 points from the first 17 league games (2.1 points per game). However, the Blues have taken only 11 points from the 10 games since Christmas. Three wins, five losses and two draws makes has seen their points per game record fall to just over one per match (1.1).
There is still time to recover the stuttering form, but if Chelsea want to be competing for the biggest titles, it is a pattern Maresca has to ensure does not become a trend.
Image caption,
The Blues have also struggled to accumulate points at the same rate as they did before the festive period
The answerpublished at 16:52 7 March
16:52 7 March
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Earlier, we asked how well you remembered Chelsea's opening Premier League game of the season. The match against Manchester City ended in a 2-0 defeat, with Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic scoring for Pep Guardiola's side.
Chelsea v Leicester: Did you know?published at 15:51 7 March
15:51 7 March
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Leicester have won just one of their past 11 Premier League away games against Chelsea, netting just seven goals in that time and never more than once in a match.
Leicester City have lost 11 of their past 12 Premier League games, losing four in a row without scoring and conceding at least twice, since beating Spurs 2-1 in January. The Foxes could lose five straight league matches by margin of two goals or more for the third time in their history.
Pedro Neto has been involved in four goals in his past four Premier League games (two goals, two assists), one more than he was in his first 20 appearances for Chelsea. The most recent game against Southampton was the first time Neto has ever scored and assisted in the same Premier League match.
Maresca on Van Nistelrooy, Leicester and Palmerpublished at 14:32 7 March
14:32 7 March
Marissa Thomas BBC Sport journalist
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Leicester City at Stamford Bridge (kick-off 14:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
On facing his former side: "Every team is playing for some target. The ones that are playing for relegation, they are desperate. From now on, every game is important and counts a lot - and hopefully we can continue to win games."
Maresca was asked for his thoughts on current Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy: "Ruud is a friend of mine. We played together and then after we have been in contact. When Leicester called, he thought to call me and we had a chat. I said to him that Leicester is a fantastic club, run by fantastic people. I have said many times, I'm 30 years in football and it was probably the best people in football that I'd met. So I told him many good, positive things about Leicester."
On Cole Palmer's goal drought: "When you score a goal you are probably more happy, also because your goals help the team to win - but overall Cole is fine. He's happy. He knows that he struggled to score goals in this moment but he is also aware that it is something normal and during a season it can happen. Watching him during the training session, he is fine and looks fantastic."
On whether he has sensed a shift in his side in recent games: "To be honest, if you also analyse the Aston Villa defeat, what can you say? The performance was there but, in football, you have to be clinical."
He continued: "We had so many chances we didn't score. And when you don't score, at the end it can cost you points. Winning games helps. But our inside message has been always the same. We need to continue. We need to improve things. But, for sure, when you win games, it helps."
'Malfunctioning robots' - fans' verdict on Copenhagen 1-2 Chelseapublished at 09:52 7 March
09:52 7 March
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We asked for your views on Chelsea's Conference League match against Copenhagen.
Here are some of your comments:
Phil: A win is a win, I guess some would say, but it was laboured, negative and boring. Too many slow, lateral and backwards passes - Chelsea look great with quick, short, forward passing. Moving the ball positively will frighten most teams - so liven up please.
Spike: That performance (or lack of one) was so stagnant and boring that I washed the dishes during the first half! It seems as though Maresca has sucked all the will from the players and turned them into malfunctioning robots. An awful manager!
John: An away win is always good. Disappointed to concede such a sloppy goal at the end. It gave them hope and put us under pressure. But I'm still confident we have enough to beat them at home in the second leg.
Ben: Another typical Chelsea performance; starts bright but can't play the full 90 minutes. Need to dominate and play a full 90 sooner rather than later.
Chris: Another poor performance overall - 2-0 up and cruising and then the defence leave a man totally unmarked to head in and the panic ensues, as normal. Badiashile was poor, again. His passing before he was replaced was dreadful. Oh well - let's hope we can get a result against Leicester at the weekend!
Keith: A poor performance once again - such a slow and boring style of football. Dreadful defending for the Copenhagen goal and wide open at the back. Maresca has to go - his tactics are awful.
The Blues are keen on Real Betis' Spain Under-19 winger Jesus Rodriguez, who has a £42m release clause, with Liverpool also monitoring his progress. (Mail), external
'I see James as a midfielder' - Marescapublished at 21:52 6 March
21:52 6 March
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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, speaking in his post-match news conference about goalscorer Reece James: "I see Reece as a midfielder. Since day one. I sent him a clip when he was on holiday about how he can be a midfielder. He has played in full-back, central defender, so the main target for us is to keep him fit.
"We know how important he is for us. He's our captain, a fantastic player. We need him fit, so that is our duty, our target, because for sure he is going to help us. He can play in many positions because the good players can play in many positions.
"It has been a little bit of a sloppy goal. We can avoid that. It's football, it can happen. Now 90 minutes have finished and now we have 90 more minutes against them.
"The main game for us is Sunday's game at home and we need our fans for 100 minutes behind the team and pushing the team.
"If we can win against Leicester on Sunday, we can do one more step to finishing in the Champions League, (whether) top four or top five, I do not know."
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