Pep Guardiola says 'exceptional' Enzo Maresca fell victim to need for rotation at Chelsea
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Pep Guardiola has had his say on Enzo Maresca's Chelsea rotation and how risky the approach is after the London side's recent 3-1 defeat to Leeds United.
Guardiola's Manchester City leapfrogged Chelsea into second in the Premier League table last weekend as Maresca's side were forced to share points with Arsenal.
Chelsea had the chance to maintain a one-point gap, but the disappointing defeat to Leeds on Wednesday has left them even further in fourth.
Manchester City faced a similarly tough challenge from Leeds last weekend, but managed to get away with three points with a late Phil Foden winner despite the latter erasing their two-goal deficit in the second half.
Speaking about how tough it is to remain consistent as a top team in the Premier League to meet expectations, Guardiola, who was full of praise for his former assistant Maresca, highlighted Chelsea's recent defeat.
"Look what happened after Leeds," the Manchester City head coach said in Friday's press conference.
"One of the best managers in the world, Enzo Maresca, I know him quite well, but the job he has done at Chelsea does not get enough credit.
"Winning the Club World Cup, Conference League, qualification for the Champions League in a league that is so tough with a young team. It is exceptional.
"And he rotated and look what happened?
"You are able to win games, games, games and after you lose, lose, lose. It only happens in this league, in this country. It can happen."
Maresca already explained that most of his rotations are out of necessity to manage the workload of certain players, rather than tactical, but as Guardiola pointed out, Premier League fixtures are often unforgiving.
Chelsea are currently four points behind Manchester City and three points behind third-placed Aston Villa.
The Blues will visit Bournemouth on Saturday, before having to shift their focus to Tuesday's Champions League trip to Atalanta.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.