"He needs to go!", "An absolute howler tonight" - Chelsea fans slam Enzo Maresca for 2-1 loss to Atalanta

Chelsea fans slammed manager Enzo Maresca after the 2-1 loss to Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League. Many blamed the manager for the defeat, saying his substitutions made the game even harder for the side.

Chelsea took the lead over Atalanta on Tuesday, December 9, with Joao Pedro tapping in from close range after a brilliant ball from Reece James. The Blues held on to their lead until half-time, but the Italian side made a brilliant comeback in the second half.

Former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca headed in from a yard out after drifting away from Wesley Fofana. The goal saw the home crowd come alive, and the match turned on its head as Atalanta took complete control.

Charles De Ketelaere sealed the win for the Serie A side with eight minutes left in the game after the Chelsea players failed to react. The Belgian drifted into the box after a quick free kick, and his shot took a slight deflection off Cucurella and went in despite the best efforts from Robert Sanchez.

The loss saw Chelsea extend their winless streak to four games in all competitions since the 3-0 win over Barcelona. The fans were quick to point fingers at Maresca today, as he ignored Andrey Santos, Estevao Willian, and Facundo Buonanotte on the bench, while bringing in Malo Gusto and Tosin Adarabioyo. They posted:

Dmitry

@ChicagoDmitry

It's 100% on Maresca. You need a goal, Fofana gets hurt, you have a CB playing RB and two RBs on the pitch playing god fucking knows what and you bring on Tosin

Frank Khalid OBE

@FrankKhalidUK

No f****** urgency to get the equaliser!!! No ideas, no nothing!!!

CFC Central

@CFCCentral3

Tosin coming on instead of Estevão, like needing a fishing rod but getting a broomstick

CFCDaily

@CFCDaily

Some people are content with his manager playing Gusto as an attacker when Estevao and Santos are right there. Disgraceful.

Tom Overend

@tovers98

Enzo Maresca has got the in-game management all wrong tonight. Baffling substitutions and tactical profiling. This second half has been so poor.

Big  Ben

@B3n_mo

Maresca is so stupid my gawwwd ..we’re not going anywhere with his useless tactics ..he needs to go!

The Blues are now sitting 11th in the UEFA Champions League table, and could slip further below if the teams below win on Wednesday.

Chelsea protecting Cole Palmer, says Enzo Maresca

Chelsea were without Cole Palmer once again in their defeat to Atalanta, and Enzo Maresca revealed in his pre-match press conference that he was protecting the Englishman. He added that the former Manchester City star needs to take his time and said:

"We need to protect Cole for sure, 100%. Not only Cole in my personal view because as I said now because of the Club World Cup or because we never stop, we need to manage and protect different players. The solution with Cole, I don’t know, now we have a meeting with the medical staff and we decide the best solution for him.

"But it’s also a kind of injury that is not like black and white. It’s an injury that someday you can be better. It’s not that you have pain and tomorrow disappear. Sometimes you can be better, sometimes you can be worse. That’s why we need to manage day by day."

Maresca's side have a tough run of fixtures coming up, with Everton, Newcastle United, and Aston Villa next in the league, with a Carabao Cup clash against Cardiff City next week.