Revealed: Enzo Maresca left Chelsea 'without saying a word' to his players as questions over 'focus' led to dramatic exit

Following Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday, head coach Maresca was conspicuous by his absence in the post-match press conference, with former goalkeeper Caballero being in charge of media duties. The Italian said his compatriot was not around as he had not been feeling well and had decided to skip the press conference.

He told reporters: "He didn't feel well in the last two days, with a bit of temperature the last two days, he did the sessions to prepare the game but after the game he asked me to replace him because he wasn't feeling well."

Despite surrendering a lead against the Cherries, the ex-Manchester City man felt the Blues were heading in the right direction, while making no more comments about Maresca. He added: "We are improving in certain areas but we still need to learn to kill games and maintain the score when we are winning. We put in a lot of effort to go up 2-1 but we couldn't manage things to take three points. It is always frustrating to concede from set pieces but it is part of the game. When you concede two in the same game though, it is tough."

But behind the scenes, all was not well.

According to The Athletic, Maresca got changed and left "without saying a word to his players" after the Bournemouth draw, and suggestions he was ill were a "smokescreen". Moreover, Chelsea's stars were "unaware" of what was going on but knew something might have been bubbling under the surface on their journey home from Stamford Bridge. The Italian was reportedly "determined" to leave Chelsea at that stage, while the Blues' hierarchy had run out of patience with the former Leicester City manager. Before his dismissal, reports suggested he was talking to former club Manchester City on multiple occasions about succeeding Pep Guardiola at the Etihad, while the Blues put the feelers out for Marseille head coach Roberto De Zerbi. And it seems Maresca's apparent lack of "focus" on the job at hand may have played a part in his exit. 

The report reads: "Sources close to Maresca insist he made it clear that he had no intention of leaving and was happy to renew his deal - although discussions did not take place about fresh terms. People at Chelsea say they had good reason for this - Maresca was in the second season of a minimum five-year deal. The admission of being approached by other teams, combined with the bad form and that Everton press conference, raised doubts at Stamford Bridge over Maresca’s focus."

The Athletic adds that most of Chelsea's players enjoyed working with Maresca, who has overseen their passage to the Carabao Cup semi-finals this season. One such player who was put out by the Italian's departure is winger Pedro Neto, who admitted he felt "sad" and "surprised" at the news. 

He told Sky Sports: "When I heard the news, in the beginning, I was a little bit surprised, because the manager did very good for us. He did an unbelievable season last year, he was doing a good season this year. For me, I’d be a little bit sad because it was the manager that helped me a lot. He helped me a lot, I learned a lot with him. On personal terms, he was unbelievable as well. So the only thing I can say is ‘thank you’."

As Chelsea's Under-21 coach, Calum McFarlane, prepares to take charge of their first-team clash away at Man City on Sunday, Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior is the heavy favourite to succeed Maresca in the Blues dugout. But the 41-year-old himself is focusing on the Ligue 1 outfit for now. 

"My job is here, I love this club. No, I haven't spoken to the players about it," Rosenior said in a press conference on Friday. "There's no need, they're connected and I've had a few light-hearted jokes. But we've been focused on our work. The goal is to continue creating great things here."