Enzo Maresca had better hope his young players are quick learners. Chelsea must be ready for the storm when they head into their showdown at Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon. The atmosphere will be ferocious and the pressure to perform intense. Forest are a tough, underdog team whose manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, says they are trying to make “something magical” happen. A huge reward is up for grabs but they are not burdened by expectation. Chelsea, on the other hand, must be aware that they will be in for a kicking if they produce a repeat of their2-0 defeat at Newcastletwo weeks ago and lose their nerve in another tough away game.
This is a pivotal moment forChelsea. Victory would seal a Champions League place for the first time since they were bought by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital three years ago. It would give them a vital cash injection and the owners something substantial to point to when people wonder about the club’s direction. Anything less would throw up more of the same old accusations about being too young, too capricious and too chaotic to succeed despite spending more than £1bn.Lads, it’spost-Roman Abramovich Chelsea; did you really expect them to stand up when it counted?
Of course, binary conclusions are unhelpful. Win and all is well? Miss out on the top five and everything is a disaster? The truth is somewhere in between. Maresca, 45, is a rookie coach who has made mistakes in his first season at Chelsea, particularly since Christmas, but he has also navigated some tricky waters and ensured that the side are in control of their destiny going into the final day. The transfer strategy has led to some questionable recruits but has fashioned a promising team who should – in theory – be stronger for the challenges they have faced over the past nine months.
The vibe was good at training this week. However, Chelsea have been prone to mood swings, which is to be expected when they have so many young players. They were thrilling before Christmas, then fell into a rut. Injuries bit hard and the discourse around Maresca’s positional-based system threatened to become overwhelming.
Chelsea have not produced many convincing performances since the turn of the year. They have ground out knife-edge wins at home and nothing is more instructive going into the game against Forest than what happened against Newcastle.
Chelsea knew what to expect. There were discussions in the days before the game about riding the wave of early Newcastle pressure. The idea was to stay calm, do nothing stupid and slowly take control. Newcastle had injuries and were looking tired. Chelsea intended to survive the initial barrage before making their quality and depth count.
Cut to reality. Far from being prepared, Chelsea wilted. Eddie Howe flummoxed Maresca by switching to a wing-back system and Newcastle overpowered the Italian’s midfield. They were 1-0 up after two minutes, capitalising when their pressing drew a costly error from Roméo Lavia, and Chelsea’s inability to cope with the physicality was underlined when Nicolas Jackson lost his cool and received a red card for elbowing Sven Botman midway through the first half.
It was an impetuous moment, exposing the immaturity lingering within Maresca’s team. The thoughtlessness was staggering. Chelsea were already without Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu, who are doubts for Sunday, and it is likely that Forest will take note of how easily Newcastle rattled the west London side.
Forest tapped into the dark arts during their2-1 win over West Hamlast Sunday. There was plenty of time-wasting and rolling around. There was a cynical streak to Forest. Expect them to try to get under Chelsea’s skin. Expect them to work the referee, Anthony Taylor. Expect the crowd to appeal for everything. Expect the challenges to be hard, the pace to be quick.
Chelsea have one league away win since early December. They have to keep their heads. They have the better players. Everything will be easier if they can manage the situation. Only a win will give Forest a chance of making the Champions League. Chelsea need to make them desperate.
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This is where the issue of leadership pops up. Chelsea’s character remains under the spotlight. They do not have to dispense with their policy of targeting young players – it has brought them a lot of exciting talent, with more on the way – but there is a case for them tomake modifications and add a dash of experiencein key areas. Maresca, whose immediate job security is not thought to depend on Champions League qualification, is aligned with the club’s vision but has hinted at wanting more proven players.
Access to Champions League money would be a boost. Chelsea are considering a striker and arecompeting for Ipswich’s Liam Delapand RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko. Options in attacking midfield include Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. The budget would be boosted by a top-five finish.
Over to Maresca. How does he react to Jackson’s suspension? Does he persist with the young Tyrique George as a false 9 or bring in Jadon Sancho and move Pedro Neto up front? How do Chelsea avoid drifting into sterile possession without Jackson stretching Forest? Does Lavia come back into midfield, with Moisés Caicedo shifting to right-back? It is a conundrum. Lavia makes Chelsea smoother and he is not registered for Wednesday’s Uefa Conference League final against Real Betis, but the Belgian was poor against Newcastle and starting him against Forest would mean dropping Reece James a little over a week after the captain’ssublime assist against Manchester United.
James is an unfussy, steady sort of leader. Chelsea could do with an unfussy, steady performance against Forest. They cannot be intimidated. They cannot be rash. The old Chelsea – the Chelsea of Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba – would have dealt with this kind of game. The new version have it all to prove.