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Enzo Maresca says Chelsea have been working since "day one" of pre-season to shed harmful habits from last season
New Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has communicated that he is working hard to address defensive issues inherited from former Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure ahead of the new season.
Following a challenging pre-season, Maresca is focused on refining the team’s defensive strategy to better prepare for the season ahead.
Lessons from pre-season struggles
Chelsea’s recent 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid during their United States tour was their third in four games, showing their ongoing defensive problems. The Blues were frequently caught out by Real Madrid’s ability to exploit space behind their high defensive line with quick passes.
In a recent interview. Maresca has emphasised that resolving these issues has been a priority since the start of pre-season.
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Speaking to reporters, Maresca said, “It’s a problem we are trying to solve from pre-season since day one. One of my first meetings with the squad was about the amount of goals we conceded last year with the defensive line very high.”
Maresca preparing Chelsea for tasking Premier League season
Maresca’s primary goal is to move away from the high defensive line that was a hallmark of Pochettino’s strategy and the Italian is focused on lowering the defensive line by approximately four to five meters to mitigate the risk of opponents exploiting spaces and creating scoring opportunities.
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“It’s a habit we are trying to take out,” Maresca explained about the high lines, adding, “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 meters, just to have some advantage.”
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With the Premier League season set to begin, Chelsea’s defensive adjustments will be put to the test and Maresca is keen to ensure that the team is not vulnerable to the kind of swift counterattacks that plagued them in pre-season.
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