Maresca stands by Chelsea rotation plan after Brentford draw

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca stood by his team selection after a goalless draw with Brentford on Sunday.

There was nothing to separate the two sides as Brentford held on to register their first home clean sheet of the season in the Premier League.

Yoane Wissa came close for the Bees, drilling a powerful shot into the side netting early on as Chelsea laboured through a sluggish first half.

Maresca started Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Pedro Neto on the bench, though the trio came on to lead a much-improved performance after the break, though it was not enough for Chelsea to claim the three points.

Palmer nearly struck the glory shot with the final kick of the game, but his curled effort skimmed over the top of the crossbar.

Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Maresca explained his rotation policy.

“The reason why is we played Thursday night and not all of them were 100%,” he said.

“The idea was to start in one way and finish another way. The plan almost worked.”

In the first half, the Blues managed just four shots at an expected goals value of 0.49. In the second, owing in large part to Maresca’s substitutions, those numbers rose to 17 shots at an xG of 0.83.

Maresca was happy with the performance despite Chelsea being embroiled in a tight race for the Champions League places.

“I think overall we played a good game. We played Thursday night, it was a tricky game, sunny day. They tried to kill the tempo of the game. We did enough to win, we shot over 20 times,” he added.

“The only thing we missed was the goal but I’m happy with the performance.”

Chelsea registered 21 shots, five of them on target, in yet another poor result on the road. The Blues are now winless in each of their last eight away Premier League matches (three draws, five losses), scoring just three goals in total during that time.

Goalless. #CFC | #BRECHE pic.twitter.com/uaxVsxhqBY

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 6, 2025

Speaking on his side’s away form, Maresca added: “I think we started the season winning many games away and we struggled at home. Now it is the other way.

“To get top four or top five, fight for the title, you need the right balance. Overall in terms of numbers, we are there since the start.

“To be honest, I didn’t prepare the game today thinking it’s been a long time since we win away and we need to win.”

Chelsea will now shift focus from the Premier League to the Conference League, in which they take on Legia Warsaw in the first leg of their quarter-final on Thursday, with a home fixture against Ipswich Town awaiting them next weekend.