“He was the cause of our defeat, he had lost the ball more than 10 times on the pitch which caused the second and Third goal, he needs to leave my club-Enzo Maresca reveals main person for Chelsea defeat

Enzo Maresca has admitted that Chelsea “needs to address numerous issues off the ball” following their heavy 4-1 defeat to Celtic in their preseason match on Saturday night.

In the game held at Notre Dame Stadium in Indiana, the Scottish champions took an early lead in the first half with goals from Matt O’Reily and Kyogo Furuhashi. Brendan Rodgers’ side maintained their dominance throughout the match.

In the second half, Luis Palma and Mikey Johnston added to Celtic’s tally, while Christopher Nkunku scored a late penalty to provide Chelsea with a solitary consolation goal.

This defeat marked Chelsea’s first loss of the preseason, following a 2-2 draw with Wrexham earlier in the week.

Maresca noted that his team is still struggling with “disorientation” regarding possession and movement.

Reflecting on the match, Maresca emphasized the importance of the result and the need for a thorough assessment. “The result is significant, as we have discussed,” Maresca said after the game. “We need to analyze the performance comprehensively. In my view, we were significantly better on the ball compared to our game against Wrexham, which is important because it highlights the numerous opportunities we created in both halves.”