Enzo Maresca told he must 'get a hold of' Chelsea duo if Blues are to bounce back after Aston Villa collapse

Chelsea were left counting the cost of another damaging Premier League defeat after letting a first-half advantage slip in a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. The Blues started brightly and looked in control for long spells, taking a deserved lead before the interval and restricting Villa to very little threat in open play.

That control unravelled in the second half. Chelsea struggled to convert dominance into a decisive second goal and gradually lost their grip on the contest after the break. A triple substitution from Villa manager Unai Emery shifted the momentum, injecting energy and directness that Chelsea failed to respond to effectively.

The turning point came when substitute Ollie Watkins equalised, before heading home a late winner to complete the turnaround. The result extended Villa’s impressive winning run and left Chelsea with just one victory in their last six Premier League matches, further denting their hopes of sustaining a title challenge under Maresca.

Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol was scathing in his assessment of Chelsea’s shortcomings, insisting the focus should now be firmly on the players tasked with controlling games. Speaking on ESPN, he dismissed the idea that Chelsea’s inconsistency can still be blamed on youth: “I hate this line about Chelsea being young,” Nicol said. “Sanchez is 27, Cucurella is 28, you have two central midfielders who are 24, but they have as much experience as anybody. Reece James is 26, so I’m past the young thing. At the end of the day, particularly Enzo Fernandez and Moises (Caicedo) in the middle of the park, it all starts with them.”

Nicol argued that Chelsea’s problems become most apparent once they have taken the lead, pointing to a lack of authority and game management from the midfield pairing. He believes Maresca must now be far more demanding of them when the team is ahead and under pressure. “Now, I do believe they have problems at centre-back and I think that doesn’t help,” he added. “But the guts of the team are those two, and, in my opinion, those are the two who should be sorting things around them and behind them when they are ahead and stopping the opposition from playing and then getting the result. You play your football, you get ahead but then you have to be smart. And I’m sorry, these two guys have had enough experience. World Club champions, they’ve won a European title. How much experience do you need?”

“I think Maresca has to get a hold of the two of them and speak to them and make sure that when they are ahead and they are trying to see the game out, that they do certain things at certain times of the game. You can’t just keep playing, keep playing, keep playing, then lose a goal and just keep playing. No, sometimes you just have to do the dirty stuff and make sure you get over the line, and those two guys for me is where this starts.’”

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The criticism levelled at Fernandez and Caicedo cuts to the heart of Chelsea’s identity under Maresca. Both players were signed to be long-term pillars of the project, combining technical quality with the authority to dictate tempo and protect the defence when required. However, Chelsea have regularly struggled to slow the game down once momentum shifted over the last couple of seasons.

Nicol was particularly emphatic that experience can no longer be used as a mitigating factor for the duo. He highlighted their pedigree at club and international level, arguing that such backgrounds demand greater responsibility in key moments. In his view, Chelsea’s tendency to continue playing expansively, even when protecting a narrow lead, has repeatedly left them exposed.

The spotlight now falls firmly on Maresca and how he responds to another painful lesson. The Chelsea head coach acknowledged after the Villa defeat that his side struggle to manage games once they concede, admitting it is an issue that has surfaced repeatedly this season and one that must be addressed quickly.

Chelsea return to action on Tuesday with a home fixture against Bournemouth, a match that suddenly carries added pressure. Another slip would risk deepening the sense of drift around Stamford Bridge and further eroding confidence in a campaign that once promised far more.