Chelsea looked back at their 2025 on social media on Wednesday evening, but there was no mention of Enzo Maresca. It seems the writing may be on the wall for the Italian head coach, who had previously delighted everyone at the club by leading the Blues to Club World Cup glory this summer.
However, with recent Premier League form taking a dip and some controversial comments made to the press earlier this month, Maresca is under considerable pressure to hold onto his position. To put it into perspective, Chelsea have managed just one victory in their last seven matches in the English top-flight, currently sitting fifth in the table and trailing league leaders Arsenal by 15 points. Adding fuel to the fire, Maresca appeared to criticise the lack of support he received from the club following December’s 3-1 defeat to Leeds United, venting his frustrations in a heated press conference where he claimed to have experienced the “worst 48 hours” of his tenure.
He stated at the time: “Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst 48 hours since I joined the club because many people didn’t support us.”
He was then asked to clarify what he meant, adding: “In general. In general.”
In celebration of their achievements in 2025, Chelsea’s social media team posted a brief recap rapped by Still Shadey, featuring clips of midfielders Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez. However, manager Maresca was notably absent from the verse.
This omission prompted several fans to voice their concerns in the comments section, pleading with the club not to dismiss their manager, who has been at the helm since summer 2024.
One fan commented: “They left out the mastermind behind it all in the wrap man. It’s over for Maresca.” Another asked: “Was the manager not a big part of 2025?” while a third echoed: “You left out Maresca.”
A fourth fan pointed out: “If it wasn’t for Maresca we wouldn’t be called world champions. We went band-for-band with the European champions and destroyed them, but hearing the rumours of sacking him now is absolutely shocking and embarrassing.”
Meanwhile, another user criticised: “What a joke that you’re posting this while thinking about sacking the guy who made our 2025 as good as it was, despite the board’s efforts to sabotage us at every step.”
However, just a day earlier following Chelsea’s stalemate with Bournemouth, numerous supporters were demanding a new head coach.
One declared: “Chelsea are the most confused team in world football, you wouldn’t believe they beat Barcelona 3-0 a couple months ago, I don’t see a vision with Maresca in game tactics anymore,” whilst another proclaimed: “Maresca needs to be fired. #MarescaOUT.”
Chelsea’s next fixture sees them travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City on January 4. They will be without a crucial player for that journey, however, as Caicedo will be absent.
The Ecuadorian midfielder received his fifth yellow card of the campaign for a tackle on Adrien Truffert just four minutes into the Bournemouth game, meaning he must serve a one-match ban under Premier League disciplinary regulations.
Looking ahead to the rest of January, Chelsea visit Fulham at Craven Cottage, make the trip to the Valley to meet Charlton in the FA Cup, welcome Arsenal to Stamford Bridge for the Carabao Cup semi-finals, and host Brentford.
Champions League fixtures against Pafos and Napoli are also on the horizon, alongside Premier League encounters with Crystal Palace and West Ham.