‘Not Good Enough’: Enzo Maresca Slams Chelsea After Painful Loss to Sunderland
Following Chelsea’s dramatic Premier League loss to Sunderland on Saturday, a disgruntled Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, delivered a harsh assessment.
Chelsea took an early lead with to Alejandro Garnacho’s first goal, but Sunderland rallied thanks to goals from Wilson Isidor and Chemsdine Talbi in the closing minutes.
Sunderland overtook the Blues to take second place in the league table, while they suffered their third Premier League loss in their previous five games, dropping them to ninth place.
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After winning five of their first nine games, the newly promoted team had a fantastic start to the 2025–26 season with 17 points, two behind league leaders Arsenal.
The Blues, who have already lost 13 points in their first nine games this season, have been erratic in the league. In contrast, they have achieved back-to-back victories over Ajax and Benfica in Europe, and they have scored seven goals in the competition.
Maresca Share His Opinion After The Match saying ‘Not Good Enough’
After the home loss to Sunderland, Maresca became obviously irritated at full time. The Italian coach analysed his team’s performances later in the post-match press conference, saying: “I think we were not good enough in general.”
We are aware that you can lose points against any Premier League team the instant you make a small mistake, which is exactly what happened to us. That is really challenging.
“No, it’s always difficult for the ones that they go inside,” Maresca said in response to a question about what he expected from his substitute players. They tried, at least. But again, generally we were not good enough.”
Regarding Sunderland’s long throws that are giving the Blues trouble, Maresca added: “It’s never easy to get seven or eight people inside the box.
It was nearly inside the six-yard box. Managing it is challenging. We made every effort to prepare for that, but it is possible.”
Although Garnacho’s goal in the fourth minute was Chelsea’s fastest of the 2025–26 season, Maresca was not impressed by the team’s performance, saying: “Yeah, absolutely.” Although we had a strong start with the goal, we still felt like we were losing in terms of physicality, duels, second balls, and other situations.
It is always risky while playing against these teams. Basically, we weren’t good enough. Points can be lost against any team if you are not good enough.
Garnacho was permitted to depart Manchester United in the summer after a dismal 2024–25 season on the pitch and a severe falling out with manager Ruben Amorim. Chelsea paid £40 million ($54 million) to acquire him.
The Argentine missed the most of Old Trafford’s preseason because Amorim included him in his “bomb squad” along with other misfits like Marcus Rashford, Antony, and Jadon Sancho.
After completing his transfer to Stamford Bridge, the winger naturally needed some time to return to his peak form.
The 21-year-old had started just two Premier League games and appeared in just six games overall prior to the meeting against Sunderland.
However, the winger’s outstanding first goal from Pedro Neto’s assist on Saturday gave him a renewed sense of fitness.
Garnacho even managed to pull off a Manchester United celebration after scoring the goal by joining Neto in sitting on the advertising board.
He also followed in the footsteps of his hero, Cristiano Ronaldo, who celebrated by pointing to the ground after scoring the first goal.
Before Estevao Willian took his position, he appeared at ease with the ball for the entire 58 minutes he was on the pitch.
Before facing Tottenham Hotspur in a crucial Premier League match on November 1, the Blues will next play Wolves in a Carabao Cup match on Wednesday.
If they are to maintain their position among the league’s top five clubs and earn a Champions League berth for the upcoming campaign, they must resume their winning ways.
