Enzo Maresca held an emergency team meeting just before Chelsea’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge
Enzo Maresca held an emergency team meeting just moments before Chelsea faced Sunderland. The manager had extensively analysed the Black Cats in preparation for the showdown at Stamford Bridge, scrutinising each of their nine league and cup matches this term.
However, his plans were thrown into disarray when Regis Le Bris handed in his team sheet. Despite Sunderland having consistently used a back four in all their previous matches, they adopted a more defensive stance against Chelsea, deploying five defenders to guard Robin Roefs’ goal.
Upon the release of the team news at 1.45pm, Maresca, who was in his coaches’ office – which doubles as a debriefing room alongside the Chelsea executives after home games – immediately called a team meeting. Here, he outlined his game plan and issued new directives.
They had spent the week gearing up for a match against two full-backs and centre-halves each. However, it ultimately proved fruitless. Despite the hosts taking an early lead four minutes into the game through Alejandro Garnacho, Wilson Isidor levelled the score before half-time, as Sunderland adopted a defensive strategy and made themselves impenetrable.
Just when the match seemed destined for a draw, Chemsdine Talbi netted a surprise winner for the visitors three minutes into extra time, ensuring Sunderland returned to Wearside with all three points, reports the Mirror.
Frustrated by the Black Cats’ tactical approach, Maresca revealed to Football.London how his team’s match preparations were rendered worthless just moments before kick-off. He explained: “The thing that we need to improve and we need to learn, and it’s something that I’m saying to the players every day, is now that teams, probably because of what we achieved last season, teams have changed against us.
“Sunderland, nine games in the Premier League, they never played with a back five from the start. Never. They played nine games, I watched all the nine games from Sunderland before our game. Never. They finished with a back five, they were winning 1-0, so to defend the last 10 minutes, they had a back five. But from the start, never.
“So we prepared a Sunderland game against a back four, thinking that probably they will be a back five. So before the game, in the changing room, before the players go out for a warm-up, I need to tell the players, ‘Guys, all the Sunderland preparation, do like this, tac-tac-tac-tac, and put in the rubbish.’
“That’s why it’s so difficult. The plan for today, now, is this. In ten minutes, we need to change the plan. So it’s different when we know that team, they are back five, and we prepare with back five.”
The Mail reports that Maresca has assigned his analysts a fresh assignment following the encounter – instructing them to examine last season’s defeats to teams who adopted similar defensive setups for insights on how Chelsea can more effectively dismantle such tactics in the future. Maresca also detailed how Ange Postecoglou employed a comparable system when Nottingham Forest faced Chelsea at the City Ground earlier this campaign.
He continued: “Four weeks ago, I was in London for the LMA award. I was with Ange, before he took the job with Forest. We were speaking, and I said, ‘Ange, I’ve never seen your team play back five, apart from the last 10 minutes of the Europa League final against United’.
“He started to laugh, and he said, ‘I hate to play back five, but because it was the last 10 minutes, and we need to win the title, I said, ‘OK, I don’t care, we play back five’. We played Forest, it was a back five.
“And I prepared the game against a back four. So before the warm-up, before the play-out, guys, all the plan, rubbish, back five. This is difficult for the players. It’s not when you know that you play against a team, that they always play a back five.
“OK, we prepare all week, or two, three days, for how we can win the game. And we know how to win the game. The problem is when you face a team, that they are back four, arrive here, back five, sit back. It’s more complicated. This is the only difference.”
Chelsea’s clash with Forest concluded in stark contrast to their encounter with Sunderland, as they emerged victorious with a 3-0 scoreline away from home, a result that led to the dismissal of Postecoglou. The weekend triumph temporarily propelled Sunderland to second place in the Premier League table, boasting five victories, two draws and two defeats from their first nine fixtures.
However, following Sunday’s round of matches, they slipped to fourth due to Bournemouth and Tottenham securing wins against Forest and Everton, respectively. Now, the Black Cats are setting their sights on Everton for Monday’s showdown at the Stadium of Light, while Chelsea are preparing for their journey to Tottenham.
