Enzo Maresca didn’t sugarcoat it. He knows Chelsea are in a slump and not just the kind that a lucky bounce or a wonder goal can fix.
Only three wins from the last 12 games. A team that flirted with outside-title-challenger status back in December now finds itself staring at seventh place.
The hype that built during that promising winter run has fizzled, and Saturday’s defeat to Aston Villa felt like a sobering slap back to reality.
"When Maresca was asked what’s really gone wrong, he didn’t hide anything or throw out the usual excuses. Instead, he said what most Chelsea fans have been shouting at their screens for weeks this team just isn’t sharp enough, not in attack, and definitely not at the back."
“There’s usually more than one reason,” Maresca said, choosing his words carefully but not hiding. “But for me, over the last seven, eight, ten games, the biggest issue is clear, it’s the boxes. Both boxes.”
It’s always about the boxes, isn’t it? You can play neat triangles in midfield all day long, but if you can’t defend your own area and don’t bury chances at the other end, the game slips away. Chelsea have been caught in that exact trap far too often lately.
“Except for maybe the Brighton match away,” Maresca continued, “we’ve created chances in nearly every game. We’ve scored in most of them too. But the difference is we’re not finishing when it counts and we’re not defending with conviction.”
That’s where the frustration lives: in those small, sharp moments where matches turn. It’s not like Chelsea are getting outplayed for 90 minutes. They’re just not capitalizing when it matters.
And the numbers back him up. Since Boxing Day, Chelsea have dropped 13 points from winning positions the most of any team in the Premier League during that period.
It’s not just poor luck. It’s a pattern. It’s a habit. One that’s costing them everything they were building toward.
When that stat was put in front of Maresca, he didn’t try to spin it.
“I’m not even sure what to say,” he admitted. “I knew it was 13 points we’ve let slip. But sometimes that’s football. Sometimes there’s a reason. We’re still trying to understand it.”
He paused, then went deeper:
“What’s important is, in those matches, we were ahead. That’s the encouraging part you’re doing something right. But now it’s about protecting that lead. Holding on.”
And that’s the part that’s been missing. Chelsea have had countless chances to kill games off they just haven’t taken them.
“Against Villa the other day, we had four, maybe five clear chances to make it 0-2. If you take one of those, it’s probably game over,” he said, visibly agitated. “But we didn’t. And when you don’t, the door stays open. Anything can happen.”
It’s that old saying leave the window cracked and football will find a way to blow the whole thing wide open.
You look at the Chelsea sides of old José Mourinho’s title-winning machines, or even Thomas Tuchel’s Champions League conquerors and the DNA was clear. Control, structure, discipline. Now? You see flickers of flair but not enough backbone.
Fans are starting to ask: Who are we under Maresca? The build-up play is smoother. The transitions are cleaner. But is it winning football?
Just last week, former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole summed it up on pundit duty:
“You can’t keep dropping points like this and say it’s a process. At some point, winning has to be the process.”
That’s where Maresca now finds himself trying to balance long-term development with short-term demands. And in this league, there’s no time for patience unless you’re stacking up points.
Thiago Silva used to be that figure. Even at 39, his presence was calming, his positioning faultless. But now, without that kind of veteran aura, Chelsea’s young core looks a bit lost when pressure mounts.
And it’s not just a tactical gap it’s emotional. It’s psychological. You can almost feel the anxiety ripple through the side when they concede. Heads drop. Players start hiding. And before you know it, another promising afternoon ends with questions and regrets.
The Stamford Bridge crowd, once forgiving of early stumbles, is beginning to show signs of frustration. The boos that echoed after the Villa loss weren’t aimed at one player they were aimed at the system.
And in football, the system is always the manager.
Against Villa, he had two golden chances to double the lead. Both were squandered. You could see the disbelief in Maresca’s face and in the stands. That kind of wastefulness spreads doubt through a squad.
In fairness, Sterling’s not alone. "Nicolas Jackson shows flashes there’s energy, there’s movement, but when it comes to sticking the ball in the net, it’s been hit or miss. You can’t fault the effort, but the end product hasn’t been there often enough.
Cole Palmer, on the other hand, has quietly become the most reliable threat in the final third. Week in, week out, he shows up. But let’s be honest he can’t do it all by himself.
One fan post after the Villa loss summed it up:
“This isn’t just about tactics. It’s about bottle. Mentality. We look like a team that plays well when it’s easy but folds when it gets tough.”
Another added:
“I love Maresca’s vision, but this isn’t Serie B. This is the Premier League. You don’t get months to figure it out.”
There’s a truth to those comments that cuts deep.
The margins are brutal. One missed chance, one defensive lapse, and three points become one… or none.
"Time’s running out, and Chelsea can’t afford to hide behind excuses anymore. The basics defending with heart, finishing with belief, and holding onto leads like they actually mean something that’s where the battle is now.
No fancy tactics will fix this if the fundamentals aren’t there.
If they keep letting winnable matches slip away like this, then let’s be honest that quiet hope of a revival? It’ll end up shelved next to all the other false dawns this club’s been through since 2017.
Just another season that promised something and delivered the same old sting.
And let’s not pretend that’s okay. Not for a club like Chelsea. Not with this squad, not with this investment, not with this fanbase that’s been through it all from the cold nights at Bolton to lifting big ears in Munich.
A rebuild is fine, but there’s only so long the fans will buy into it without seeing real change.