Maresca joined Chelsea from Leicester City for £10m in July 2024
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca insisted that speculation around his future would not distract his squad before facing Newcastle - but that was not how it looked for 45 minutes on Saturday.
Even before kick-off, Maresca appeared to question Chelsea's focus on buying only youth, suggesting having more experienced players is "invaluable".
The Blues then did not get going at St James' Park, a ground where they had lost 15 times in the Premier League era, and found themselves 2-0 down through a pair of first-half goals from striker Nick Woltemade.
So poor was the first half that Chelsea gave up an expected goals figure of 1.97 - their worst in a first 45 minutes for more than two years. They were error-prone at the back, wasteful in possession, out battled and failed to register a shot on target.
