Maresca defends three-midfielder gamble as Chelsea fall to back-to-back Premier League defeats

Chelsea suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats after losing 1-0 to Brighton, with manager Enzo Maresca standing by the tactical approach that failed to deliver a result despite his side creating enough chances to win the game.

Maresca opted for a midfield trio of Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi from the start, a selection that had been widely called for by supporters. The combination lasted just 55 minutes before the manager was forced into changes, bringing on Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden in the second half — a switch that gave Chelsea more attacking impetus against a Brighton side defending deep.

“I expected a physical game,” Maresca said after the match. “Analysing them, watching them — they are aggressive man-to-man. I think it was a good idea to start with three physical midfielders and I was also thinking about the last 20-30 minutes to refresh with Rayan, Allan, Phil. In this moment it is like this and we need just to move on.”

Despite the defeat, Chelsea had beaten Brighton in the Carabao Cup in midweek, and Maresca’s squad will now face a demanding run of fixtures — away trips to RB Leipzig in the Champions League and then Nottingham Forest — before the international break.

Anderson, who will face his former club Leipzig in that next outing, acknowledged the performance fell short of what was required. “We created a lot of chances. Disappointing to lose,” he said. “We didn’t manage to put chances away — on another day we put three or four away. We have to bounce back for the Champions League game in a couple of days.”

The midfielder was candid about the collective frustration within the squad. “We’re all disappointed. Not good enough — we don’t want to be losing games but we’ve got to stick together. We’ve had a great start to the season, two disappointing results now, but we have to stick together.”