Chelsea 3-0 Club America: Maresca earns first Blues win in Georgia

Enzo Maresca got his first win as Chelsea boss with a dominant 3-0 victory over Club America in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke were on target from the penalty spot on either side of Marc Guiu’s first goal since signing for the Blues.

It was a nightmare start for the Mexican side as Cristian Calderon gave away a penalty with just 72 seconds on the clock, and Nkunku coolly converted from 12 yards.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could have had two goals on his first Chelsea start, but after failing to hit the target, he set up Guiu to nod it past the flailing Luis Malagon.

Javairo Dilrosun gave Maresca’s side a warning just before the break, striking the frame of the goal, but they failed to build on that threat in the second half.

Rodolfo Cota then brought down Nkunku in the box in the 78th minute, but Madueke stepped up to the spot this time, keeping his cool to round off a good win for Chelsea.

A dominant performance! @FICO_Corp | #BluesInTheUSA pic.twitter.com/r2dxQWKo61

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 1, 2024

“Very happy. In this moment, the main focus cannot be the result,” Maresca said after the game. “It’s to analyse or judge the performance and to see how we improve.

“In my personal opinion, from Wrexham, Celtic and today, we continue to improve. This is the most important thing.

“We are talking, we are working. It’s a habit from years ago. I don’t know, but there are things that we need to improve defensively.”

Data Debrief: Maresca’s tactics start to click

Chelsea scored as many goals in this game as they managed in their previous two games combined, but this time, added a clinical edge to their attacking play.

They created an expected goals tally of 3.65 from 17 shots, nine of which were on target, and while they were slightly edged out in possession, there are positive signs for the new manager.