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chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca He said the Club World Cup is affecting his team selection as they dropped Champions League points in a 2-2 draw Karabagh,
The Blues looked short of their best after the 2,500-mile trip to the Azerbaijan capital Baku And they were given a scare by their hosts, who took a 2–1 lead before half-time.
Target Estevano’s early strike followed by penalties from Leandro Andrade and Marko Jankovic turned the game around, as Chelsea looked to be on course for a routine win.
Alejandro Garnacho’s goal in the second half saved the visitors’ embarrassment and salvaged a point, but Maresca made seven changes to the team that beat Tottenham at the weekend, pointing to a disrupted pre-season and the lack of a summer break.
“The intention was to rest Moises (Casedo), Enzo (Fernandez), Malo (Gusto) and more players,” he said. “They are not able to play every three days. The Club World Cup affected a lot. We tried to rotate. When we win, no one mentions it, but when we don’t, everyone focuses on that.”
The final of the summer tournament in the United States, in which Chelsea was defeated Paris Saint Germain 3–0, played only five weeks before the start of the new Premier League season.
“(The selection) always happens because we feel the plan is right with the players,” Maresca said. “Today, we started right, scored goals but then we conceded two goals, the first when they had 10 players. We can avoid both goals. In their box, we need to be more clinical.”
There was more concern for Maresca as Romeo Lavia suffered an injury early on.
The midfielder has played only 30 times in more than two years since joining the club and has never completed the full 90 minutes.
“We feel embarrassed for him, especially for him,” Maresca said. “He is not going to be fit for a long time. We will just see. It is too early to understand what kind of injury it is. I think it is his quad.”
The draw takes Chelsea to eight in the table, the same number of points as their hosts in Baku, but with one defeat already to their name, there is very little margin for error in their remaining four matches if they hope to finish in the top eight and avoid the play-offs in February.
Maresca’s side take on Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night, less than 72 hours after returning from the eastern reaches of Europe.
“It’s all about (the players),” Maresca said. “I think we started the right way. We were in control of the game but after we conceded the first goal, four or five minutes later we conceded the second.
“We were much better in the second half. Every game is a chance for them to show why they’re here.”