Chelsea lost a second successive Premier League game on Saturday and are trailing in the race for Champions League qualification.
The Blues were in control against Brighton & Hove Albion, but a red card to Trevoh Chalobah allowed the visitors to record a deserved 3-1 victory.
They were down to 10 men for the second game in a row, and manager Enzo Maresca came under fire for his in-game substitutions.
Maresca has opted for an overly cautious approach, removing his attacking options in an attempt to shore up the back. However, he defended his decision to plug the gap.
Maresca said (via Football London): “Yes, we did the first change that was Josh (Acheampong) for the red card for Andrey (Santos), because we needed a central defender.
“Then the reason why Malo (Gusto) came on was just because (Yankubu) Minteh was many times one-on-one with Reece (James), so we tried to give him help in that situation to defend the two-on-one.
“And then the last change, Jorrel (Hato) was asking for a change because he had cramp.”
Chelsea have now conceded 11 goals in just five matches since the international break, an average of 2.2 per game.
With numbers like that, it is hard to begrudge Maresca for leaning on defensive reinforcements when his side goes down a man.
His approach may frustrate supporters eager for attacking intent. However, Chelsea’s backline has been far too porous, and they lack the cohesion to go gung-ho with 10 men.
Additionally, he cannot be held responsible for his players receiving unnecessary red cards and sabotaging games.
He now has to navigate crucial games versus Benfica, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest without several key players.
Maresca may have to turn to Benoit Badiashile and Acheampong to anchor the defence.
