Maresca plays down chelsea’s misfiring attack in goalless draw at Bournemouth

…Fears Delap’s shoulder injury is ‘quite bad’

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has played down the vrowing concern over his side’s attack despite misfiring against Bournemouth on Saturday.

The Chelsea manager is also afraid striker Liam Delap’s shoulder injury is ‘quite bad’ after he came off in the 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

“I think it was a game where we lacked a little bit of quality in the final third,” Maresca said.

The Blues had scored in each of their past 13 league matches since the opening day of the season, and their attack remains third behind only Manchester City and Arsenal for xG (expected goals) after 14 games.

“For me, we made many mistakes. We missed some passes in the final third, moments where we could shoot instead of crossing.

“But yes, overall, when you are not able to win, we said many times that it’s important that we don’t lose,” he said.

Maresca is also concerned about Chelsea’s £30m summer import from Ipswich.

The 22-year-old’s season has gone from bad to worse after he suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder while dragging down Marcos Senesi during a corner.

The incident appeared to stem from Delap engaging in a physical battle with Senesi, having clashed with the Italian off the ball and catching him with a stray hand moments earlier.

Delap was replaced by teenager Marc Guiu in the 30th minute. “Unfortunately he was already out for two months and he has to be out again.

“We don’t know for how long, but it looks quite bad, his shoulder,” Maresca said.

Delap suffered what could be his second significant injury of the season, after pulling a hamstring while sprinting for a pass against Fulham in August.

However, Chelsea narrowed the gap on leaders Arsenal to eight points with a draw against Bournemouth following the Gunners’ defeat at Aston Villa earlier on Saturday.

Chelsea remain narrowly in the top four on 25 points after 14 games, with Champions League qualification the main target before the season.

Seyi John Salau is a BusinessDay Correspondent with interest in development journalism, which tells stories that connect the people, brands, and the government. SeyiJohn is also a media professional with BSc, Mass Communition (ACU); Masters of School Media (MSM, Ibadan) & MSc, Mass Communication (Caleb).

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