Enzo Maresca 'solves biggest Chelsea problem, unbelievable change on Pochettino'

Enzo Maresca has done an “unbelievable” job to solve his “biggest problem” at Chelsea in such a short time, says Paul Merson.

The Italian came into the weekend with his side second in the Premier League table, and the Sky Sports pundit is amazed he managed to settle on a preferred side from such a big squad when Mauricio Pochettino’s reign saw so many changes last term.

Blues fan Merson praised the manager for how he handled Raheem Sterling’s loan exit to Arsenal before picking a clear first-choice league team.

He said live on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (1.58): “I thought his biggest problem would be was with the squad he had, it’s a big squad and there’s not much between all the players. Sometimes you get a big squad and you’ll get 11 or 12 players that are much, much better than the rest. That’s not the case at Chelsea, there’s a lot of players that are around the same.

“I thought it would take him so long to get his best team… you know what he’s done well? I didn’t agree with the Sterling thing at the start of the season, I thought that was a bit harsh. But he went ‘I’m in charge’, bang. ‘You’re out, I don’t want you, you’re not in it’. It might have been the board or the owners who said ‘you’ve got to get rid of him’, but he showed a lot to do it…

“He’s picked his team, he’s kept with his team. He made a big decision midweek, Southampton aren’t very good and he makes six changes and they go with five different scorers [to win 5-1]. They’ll all be back for this weekend [vs Tottenham].

“He has done an unbelievable job. Pochettino was there and for time after time you never knew what his team was going to be. We’d sit on here and you’d look at Arsenal and you’d go ‘right I can tell you Arsenal’s team next week’. You’d go to Chelsea, go to Stamford Bridge, you’re sitting in the stands and you could be five players out [with your guess], that’s not the case now.”

Chelsea boss axed Raheem Sterling to Arsenal

Football Insider opinion

There were positive signs at Stamford Bridge at the end of Pochettino’s reign and the former Tottenham boss’ sacking wasn’t universally popular among the fanbase.

But it is hard to argue with the decision now that Maresca has his side, largely, on top form and putting the club more than in the hunt for a Champions League place.

Sterling’s exit was uncomfortable in some ways, as was Ben Chilwell’s axing from regular consideration, while Carney Chukwuemeka’s struggle to break through continues to frustrate.

But as things stand most decisions look like the right ones for the club’s overall success, with the likes of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo thriving in the first-choice XI.

Even the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Jadon Sancho look to be benefiting from the competition, although question marks remain over Robert Sanchez in goal.

Christopher Nkunku is seemingly the most unhappy with his place in the second-string cup XI, with Football Insider understanding he is unsettled and prepared to leave amid links to Man United.

Injuries to the likes of Reece James and Wesley Fofana have forced Maresca to shuffle his options but for the most part his reign is going according to plan and there will be plenty of fans who feel the same as Merson for now.

In other news, one notable name has been made available for a January exit, sources have told Football Insider.

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