Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca has a tactical tweak that he uses in order to break down stubborn opposition, something he is absolutely going to need to use in the Premier League.
A lot has been said about Maresca’s style of play and how he swears by it and doesn’t show any real flexibility – so without a Plan B etc.
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But this is something that is changing with Maresca, and according to a report today, he is starting to show signs of tweaking his play and setup in order to get past teams who put everyone behind the ball and just sit back.
Maresca developing a Plan B
The Athletic have a big read out today comparing Maresca to Pep Guardiola and honing in on how similar they are. There is a focus on Maresca’s tactics, and taling about his tweaks.
The report states Maresca is committed to his ‘idea’ of dominating possession, moving the ball to move the opposition, with a full-back playing on the inside in front of a back three, with a high front five. It looks familiar. However, so far, he has refused to compromise on his philosophy, although there were subtle tweaks in the system to counter stubborn opponents that Leicester faced, such as moving the inside full-back forward to make a front six.
So it seems like Maresca might be developing his coaching to help get past teams when they setup so defensively. This is something that he will need at Chelsea because they will be facing a lot of teams who will just be happy to sit off them and allow them to have possession until they get close to the goal.
Possession football can be good but it needs patience and it also needs creative players and an end product. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.
