Thursday, January 1, 2026, 2:27 p.m.
It didn’t take even a day for the first earthquake of the year to break out on the European benches. Enzo Maresca’s time at Chelsea is now history. Just a few hours after the bells that welcomed 2026, the Stamford Bridge club announced the departure of the Italian coach. Disagreements with the board have put an end to the project of the transalpine coach, who leaves with the titles of the Conference League and the Club World Cup as a brilliant legacy, but which the poor streak of results achieved during the month of December ended up putting an end to it.
Three defeats and as many draws, for only two victories, in the eight games that the ‘blues’ played in the last month of 2025 ended up dynamiting the relationship between Maresca and the Chelsea board, which has led to the surprising departure of the transalpine strategist just three days before the momentous duel that will measure the Stamford Bridge team against Manchester City.
“With key objectives still to be played in four competitions, including qualification for the Champions League, Enzo and the club believe that a change gives the team the best opportunity to get the season back on track,” says the statement from Chelsea, which has fallen to fifth place in the Premier, fifteen points behind the lead held by Arsenal, and is looking for a turnaround that will allow the ‘blues’ to right the course.
Maresca closes his time at Chelsea after 90 games in which he has achieved 55 wins, 15 draws and 20 losses. Results that allowed part of the lost splendor to be returned to a club that spent huge amounts of money on signings over the last few seasons, but was not able to find its way until the Italian landed on the bench in June 2024.
Endorsed by his successful time at Leicester, which he returned to the Premier League that same year, Maresca signed a contract with Chelsea until 2029 and completed a notable first campaign at the helm of the ‘Blues’, leading them to victory in the Conference League final against Betis and signing it off with the victory against PSG in the Club World Cup final.
However, the distance between Maresca and the Chelsea board had been growing over the last few months for various reasons and these disagreements have ended up causing the coach to leave Stamford Bridge, becoming the first coach to lose his position on New Year’s Day in the entire history of the Premier League, according to Opta. Now it remains to be seen who will sit on the Chelsea bench on Sunday at the Etihad.
