“This is not our football” – Maresca opens up about what team is failing to get right

Enzo Maresca had a decent chat with the journalists in the press conference after tonight’s game where he went into a bit of detail about the individual performances that he liked, as well as some of the specifics of what he likes seeing in attack in these recent games.

He first complimented the midfield:

“Romeo and Moi did very well. Enzo was inside but overall, I’m very happy with the performance today. For some moments on the ball we were unbelievable, some good combinations. The way we prepared the game, the plan, it was exactly there.”

It didn’t quite look that good to us – we were once again very open at times – but Lavia and Caicedo should generally be a solid base going forward. He also addressed some stuff about his team leaving themselves open by attacking without structure.

“Yeah, but the problem is if you are so quick, then you are going to concede quick attacks. It is not our idea. It is not our football,” he continued. Clearly his aim is still to build a more patient and controlling side.

“Today, Noni on one side, Pedro on the other, Cole in the pocket, Malo in the pocket, Nico there; they are all so good when they are making passes, passes, passes, we arrive in the last third and we can create chances and goals.”

Maresca and his pockets

That’s what Maresca wants to see, and connects to his earlier comments about switching Gusto to the right to get him in the pocket, which he said “really well.”

That’s clearly what he wants in possession, not just Cole Palmer inspired quick counters finished off by Nico Jackson – which is working really well for now. But if we want to break down top teams we do need a really precise and organised system right through the team.