UCL: Maresca admits Chelsea ‘lost control’ in Atalanta defeat
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca delivered a blunt assessment after his side surrendered a halftime lead and fell 2-1 to Atalanta in the Champions League.
João Pedro’s near-post finish had the Blues poised for a result that would have strengthened their automatic qualification outlook, but a disjointed second-half display proved costly.
Chelsea collapse after break
Atalanta turned the match around after the interval. Gianluca Scamacca was inexplicably left unmarked to head in the equaliser 10 minutes into the second half, before Charles De Ketelaere sealed the turnaround with a driven late strike that flew beyond Robert Sánchez.
“After the goal we conceded we lost control,” Maresca said. “When we conceded the 1-1, we lost some concentration. We can avoid both goals. They’re easy goals.”
Enzo Maresca admits Chelsea conceded far too easy goals vs Atalanta – Getty image
Chelsea appeared to be in command at halftime, but Maresca’s substitutions disrupted the team’s rhythm.
Trevoh Chalobah, already booked, and Enzo Fernández were withdrawn in a move he defended on fitness and risk-management grounds.
“Trev and Enzo are playing every minute of every game,” he said. “They’re both not 100 percent. Trev was on a yellow card.”
Qualification now under pressure
The defeat leaves Chelsea with a steeper pathway to secure an automatic place in the last 16. They are likely to require maximum points from their remaining fixtures against Pafos at Stamford Bridge and Serie A champions Napoli away.
“Probably we need two wins,” Maresca said. “Sixteen points might get you top eight. The next one, for sure, we need to win both.”
Chelsea were opened up far too easily for Atalanta’s goals. Scamacca’s header came after De Ketelaere was allowed time to deliver, and with seven minutes remaining the Belgian powered past Marc Cucurella before rifling home the winner.
Maresca summarised the night with a clear-eyed verdict: “For sure we conceded two goals we can avoid. You can’t lose control of the game after conceding, but I feel that’s exactly what happened.”
The Blues return to London, where they will host inform Everton side on Saturday, hoping to turn around their below par performances in recent games.
