Enzo Maresca's position as Chelsea manager remains secure and will be evaluated at the end of the season. After disappointing results, the Blues boss has come under the spotlight in the past two weeks.
Chelsea's UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup triumphs have lost some of their lustre following a disappointing start to the season. Despite a positive start, they haven't savoured a Premier League win since August and have suffered back-to-back defeats against Manchester United and Brighton.
Maresca'ssquad also fell to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and had a close shave against Lincoln in the Carabao Cup this month.
READ MORE: Enzo Maresca responds after Chelsea owners march into dressing room following Brighton defeat
READ MORE: Alan Shearer sends Enzo Maresca sack warning after Chelsea slump to Brighton defeat
Chelsea's defeat to Brighton was witnessed by co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbahli, sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and club bosses Joe Shields and Sam Jewell, who all made a beeline for the home dressing room after the match.
The west Londoners squandered a 1-0 lead after Trevoh Chalobah was shown the red card, with Brighton netting three times courtesy of a Danny Welbeck double and a goal from Maxim De Cuyper.
Maresca, as he did against United, came under fire for his tactical choices once reduced to 10 men, reports Football London.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Chelsea, The Telegraph have claimed that club bosses remain calm and confident that their goals of finishing in the top four and challenging in cup competitions are still achievable.
The Blues have only suffered four league defeats since February's end.
After the Brighton match, Maresca discussed Eghbali and the sporting directors' visit. "They have been inside the changing room like always," he stated.
"We have an office inside the changing room where after every game we sit and talk about the game, but they didn't say anything to the players, it was nothing, completely different compared to the rest of the team."
However, Maresca had a stern message for his squad. "The message that we just said inside has been quite clear: against any team in the Premier League you cannot continue to give away presents, because what we are doing in this moment is to give away presents in terms of red cards, that is a big mistake because the game completely changed," he declared in his press conference.
"Without a doubt, we need to learn, and we need to learn quickly, so the reason why it can be a mix of experience or a mix of simple mistakes, then in terms of injury," Maresca continued.
"I think that if you just watch the first half today, you don't think about the injured players.
"Because first-half again we were in control, dominating the game, and then, again, I would like to tell you something different, but at the end it's the reality of the last two games, unfortunately with two red cards everything changed."
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