Maresca Responds to Terry’s Criticism, Defends his Squad Rotation Decisions

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has responded to comments made by club legend John Terry following the team’s 3-1 defeat to Leeds United, a match marked by defensive lapses and a heavily rotated lineup.

The loss at Elland Road came just days after Chelsea’s intense 1-1 draw with Arsenal, prompting Maresca to make five changes to his starting eleven in an effort to manage fatigue. Since taking over in mid-2024, Maresca has consistently used rotation as part of his strategy, a method that worked well during last season’s successful Conference League campaign.

However, with Chelsea now competing in the Champions League, the stakes are higher and the margin for error smaller. While some fans and pundits have questioned his frequent changes, the club’s leadership continues to back his long-term vision, according to reports from football.london.

Terry, reacting to the midweek loss on TikTok, didn’t hold back. He pointed to poor defending and set-piece errors, saying, “Goal from a set-piece, individual mistakes defensively, clearly not good enough.” He also suggested Maresca might need to settle on a more consistent core group of players, adding, “Maybe that’s an opportunity for the manager to look at the squad and go, ‘okay, rotation’s not for me going forward I know my best starting XI, or best starting 13 or 14, and I am going to stick with that.’”

Maresca addressed the criticism in a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Bournemouth. He acknowledged the challenge of balancing freshness and consistency, saying, “Now I don’t know if the solution is to have 12 or 14 players and the rest just play some minutes.” He emphasized the physical toll of playing every few days and the need to manage workloads carefully: “But we are trying to understand. Now, if today you play every three days, two days like now with the same XI, I don’t know.”

Chelsea will look to bounce back on the south coast, with a win potentially lifting them as high as third in the table, depending on the result of Aston Villa’s match against Arsenal.