The key lesson Enzo Maresca must learn from Brighton boss Hurzeler

Cameron Smith

• 28 Sep 2025 16:00 CDT
• 4 min read

Analysis

For the second consecutive week, Chelsea went down to 10 men. For the second consecutive week, Chelsea lost. For the second consecutive week, Chelsea fans have blamed Enzo Maresca.

After two wins and two draws in their opening four Premier League fixtures, the Blues suffered a 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and a clear divide was evident.

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Robert Sánchez

GK

Chelsea

Robert Sánchez

GK

Chelsea

€24.9M

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Chelsea lacked the maturity and know-how needed against Europe’s very best, and despite an encouraging first-half performance, Bayern proved just how far Maresca’s side must develop in order to consistently challenge the elite teams on the continent.

Then came a 2-1 loss to Manchester United.

Robert Sanchez’s red card was the biggest contributing factor to Chelsea’s defeat, but Maresca’s substitutions certainly didn’t help.

In response to the Spaniard’s dismissal, Maresca withdrew Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian for Filip Jorgensen and Tosin Adarabioyo. In the process, he completely nullified Chelsea’s attacking threat.

Joao Pedro was an isolated figure throughout and the lack of pace in Chelsea’s team meant they were unable to cause significant problems for Man Utd.

One week later, the same thing happened. A poor touch from Andrey Santos led to Trevoh Chalobah taking out Diego Gomez and Chelsea were again down to 10 men.

This time, Santos was instantly withdrawn for Josh Acheampong and Estevao was soon taken off for Malo Gusto. After Danny Welbeck’s equaliser in the 77th minute, Maresca substituted Jorrel Hato and the aforementioned Neto, with Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia entering the fray.

With five defenders, three midfielders and one attacker (Pedro) on the pitch, Chelsea sat incredibly deep, and they possessed no counter-attacking threat for the second consecutive week due to the lack of pace in the team.

Liam Delap’s absence through injury is obviously a blow in this regard, while Nicolas Jackson, who would’ve been perfect for the scenario Chelsea found themselves in, is on loan at Bayern Munich.

Neto is therefore the most logical candidate to perform the role of an outlet from counter-attacking situations. But, against both Man Utd and Brighton, Maresca substituted the Portugal international and Chelsea suffered.

Of course, Maresca isn’t to blame for Chelsea receiving a red card in two successive Premier League matches, but his substitutions were poor in both games and he failed to learn from his mistakes against Man Utd.

By contrast, Fabian Hurzeler’s substitutions were once again sublime.

Enzo Maresca could learn from Fabian Hurzeler

The Brighton boss has been superb with regards to in-game decisions since arriving in the Premier League, and all three goals against Chelsea were scored by substitutes (Welbeck x2 and Maxim De Cuyper).

In total, Brighton substitutes have already registered seven goal contributions in the opening six matches of the new Premier League season, and it’s a theme that has continued from last year.

Of course, Hurzeler had the benefit of facing 10 men against Chelsea, while Maresca had the misfortune of having one less player for the majority of the second-half. But, the Blues boss could certainly improve his substitutions and Hurzeler currently appears to be the best in the business.