Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca blames 'bad defensive habits' for pre-season struggles

Chelsea conceded 63 goals last season, the highest among the top six teams, and have continued to struggle defensively in pre-season, conceding four goals each in losses to Celtic and Manchester City, and then two goals in a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid in their final U.S. tour friendly.

Maresca has identified the high defensive line as a significant factor contributing to these problems. He has instructed the team to lower the defensive line by four or five meters to gain an advantage and reduce the number of goals conceded.

He said: "One of my first meetings with the squad was about the amount of goals we conceded last year with the defensive line very high.

"We are not working on defensive lines so high. Itâ™s a habit last year, or years ago, I don't know.

"We are trying to drop the defensive line a little bit, usually about four or five metres, just to have some advantage.

"Last year we conceded many goals with this problem. Hopefully, we can solve it soon."

Despite these challenges, Chelsea showed improvement in their defensive solidity in the loss to Real Madrid, limiting the European champions to only three shots on target.

This improvement provides a positive outlook as they head into their final pre-season friendly against Inter on Sunday. Chelsea will begin their Premier League campaign against champions Manchester City a week later.

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