Chelsea set first crucial Champions League goal for Enzo Maresca

Bence Bocsák

• Updated: 13 Jun 2024 12:41 BST
• 3 min read

Enzo Maresca has a big job on his hands at Stamford Bridge this summer. The former Leicester City boss was a surprise candidate to succeed Mauricio Pochettino with Maresca having no experience managing a Premier League side.

He has previously worked as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but there is no denying Todd Boehly took a risk by appointing Maresca as Chelsea’s manager.

Maresca has it all to do at the club as well. Chelsea have endured a disappointing season ending up in the UEFA Conference League – although even that looked uncertain for much of the campaign.

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Despite the club’s heavy investment, it has not paid fruition yet. Maresca will be tasked with trying to get the club back on track.

According to The Athletic his first major objective will be to lead Chelsea back to the Champions League in his first season.

That’s a huge ask considering where Chelsea are at the moment. But even more so considering the competition ahead of them with Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool all in much stronger positions to compete for the Champions League spots.

Chelesea eye Champions League spot

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Although it’s understandable why Boehly is desperate for Chelsea to be back among Europe’s elite. From a financial perspective, the club’s owner has taken a lot of risk with his heavy investment in the transfer market.

Boehly will be very aware of financial fair play restrictions and he knows the only way he can rescue Chelsea from falling victim to those regulations is by getting the club back into the Champions League.

Whether Maresca has it in him to pull off what Boehly wants remains to be seen. Maresca certainly showed potential as manager at Leicester last season. But the step-up to Chelsea is a steep one. Only time will tell whether the club made the right choice.