Discover Enzo Maresca's Chelsea tactics that led to a treble win in FM24. Recreate and dominate with this proven Football Manager setup!
Recreate Enzo Maresca's Winning Tactics in Football Manager 2024
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After Chelsea finished the 23/24 Premier League season strongly, with impressive wins against the likes of West Ham, Man Utd, Everton and Brighton, few would’ve expected the Blues to let former manager Mauricio Pochettino leave the club by mutual consent. However, this decision has since been proven correct, as the new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, signed in from Leicester City after a Championship title-winning campaign, currently has the club 4th in the league - only 10 points off the top of the Premier League table. In this article, I’ll be going through the tactics Enzo Marseca has implemented at the club to achieve this, before showcasing my recreation of said tactics in Football Manager 2024 and demonstrating the results my recreation achieved in testing. Firstly, let’s look at the principles of this system!
Pep Guardiola Inspiration
Like many other current managers, Enzo Maresca is highly inspired by the work of his former colleague, Pep Guardiola and his positional play methods. This can be seen through Maresca’s Leicester City and Chelsea sides in-possession, as both teams set-up in a 3-2-5 shape with the ball – a shape popularised by the majorly successful Spanish mastermind. The way Maresca forms his 3-2-5, however, is slightly different to Pep Guardiola’s recent iterations, with a full-back stepping into midfield – whereas Pep Guardiola has, in recent years, opted for a centre-back to step into midfield instead.
Constant Rotations
Another way you can differentiate between Guardiola’s and Maresca’s 3-2-5 systems is by analysing the movement of the players within the 3-2 build-up shape. In Maresca’s build-up shape, multiple players can roam from their position and swap positions with team-mates, creating a more fluid base – Pep Guardiola, instead, prioritises structural discipline and positional domination within his 3-2 build-up shape. Maresca’s Chelsea typically have their right-back, usually Gusto, invert into midfield whilst their left-back, mainly Cucurella, sits narrower to form a back-three with the two centre-backs; This set-up means Chelsea have their most progressive centre-back, Levi Colwill, positioned centrally in the back-three, allowing for optimum progression to both sides of the pitch. However, this set-up can quickly shift in-game with Gusto, this time, dropping to form the back-three whilst Cucurella inverts into midfield.
Enzo’s Enzo Conundrum
Unlike in Pep Guardiola’s typical 3-2-5 structure, now used by most managers in the modern game, Enzo Maresca’s system can see Chelsea set up in an interesting 3-2-1-4 shape, with Maresca’s name-sake Enzo Fernandez allowed to vertically shuffle into the gap between the build-up and frontline to pick-up the ball or to act as a decoy to drag an opposition defender/midfielder out of position. To try and recreate this, I used the ‘Segundo Volante’ role in a midfield double-pivot.
READ ALSO: Fixing Arsenal FM24 Tactic
Let’s Break Down the Tactic
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- Disclaimer:
- There are two other versions of the tactic; All three are in the download file attached to this article.
In Possession
When Chelsea has the ball, they will mainly look to play down the flanks, as they can look to release a winger in-behind or a winger can find an underlapping or underlapping run from a midfielder or full-back respectively. They will look to do this by prioritising short, but quick passes from the back. Finally, when Chelsea are in the final third, they are mainly patient in their attempts to break down a team, and will look to work cut-back situations from the byline/close to the byline.
In Transition
Like most teams nowadays, when Chelsea lose the ball, they will immediately counter-press in an attempt to win back possession; These counter-pressing situations have bear fruit at times. When Chelsea wins back the ball, whether from a counter-press or turnover, they will look to punish teams on the counter-attack. Finally, Chelsea’s build-up begins all the way from the ‘keeper, who’ll mainly look to distribute short passes to the centre-backs.
Out of Possession
When Chelsea don’t have the ball, they can almost seamlessly transition between an aggressive high-press, a stubborn mid-block and a strong low-block. This is because they don’t fully commit to the press and tend to stick to a man-marking system, meaning if their initial press is broken, they are quite quick to get bodies behind the ball, making Chelsea very difficult to beat in transitional moments especially. When Chelsea are pressing high, they press with individual aggression and are not afraid to put in challenges. From this high press, Chelsea will look to force teams into wide areas.
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The ‘keeper in Chelsea’s system must be at least semi-comfortable with the ball and will look to, at times, offer himself as a passing option – this, however, isn’t as frequent as the likes of Man City, Arsenal or Liverpool in their respective set-ups. When Chelsea don’t have the ball, the ‘keeper has a slight responsibility to sweep, however, not all the time. Therefore, I felt this role was sufficient. No additional instructions.
As aforementioned, the right-back in this system is expected to move into midfield when Chelsea have the ball. From this central position, you can sometimes see the right-back, Gusto, and the attacking midfielder, Palmer, momentarily swap positions as Gusto can move further forward. When Chelsea don’t have the ball, the right-back can use his central positioning to try and put a halt to an opposition counter-attack, before moving back into his natural right-back position. Therefore, this role is perfect, with the added instructions:
As with my Arne Slot Liverpool tactic, the roles of the two centre-backs may appear counter-intuitive. However, let me explain:
The right-sided centre-back in this system can look to carry forward at times from a safer, wider position. So, whilst the right-sided centre-back role in this system, Colwill, seems the more progressive, it’s actually the opposite. Personally, I feel this role is perfect, with the added instructions:
As mentioned above, the left-sided centre-back is actually the more progressive, as Colwill can use his excellent vision and passing ability to progress the ball up the pitch. To encourage this, I applied the ‘More Direct Passes’ and ‘Take More Risks’ instructions to this role, as seen below:
Once again, this role may appear counter-intuitive given the tactical analysis I wrote earlier in this article, however, once again there are certain factors that need to be taken into account:
Whilst Cucurella predominantly sits deeper to form the back-three in-possession, he is also given license to move further forward, overlap his winger and reach the byline for a cross/cut-back – as seen in Jackson’s goal in Chelsea’s 3-0 win against Aston Villa this season, where Cucurella moved higher and provided the assist for Jackson’s opener. To recreate these things, I felt this was the perfect role, with the added instructions:
Caicedo’s role in this system is pretty simple – form the midfield double-pivot with Gusto and provide defensive cover, whether that be through an aggressive counter-press or by holding his position. This role could easily be a ‘Defensive Midfielder’ on the ‘Defend’ duty, however, I felt this role better encapsulated Caicedo as a player/profile. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect. No additional instructions.
As mentioned previously, Enzo Fernandez is given an intriguing ‘shuttling’ role where he can move between the build-up and frontline. He mainly looks to do this in the half-spaces, in an attempt to draw out the opposition full-back/centre-back. Along with this, he can also be a lateral goal-threat, getting on the end of cut-backs from the edge of the penalty area. Finally, when he has the ball, Enzo Fernandez is allowed to use his impressive vision and passing ability to create chances for team-mates, predominantly with through balls for the attackers to chase in-behind. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the added instructions:
Cole Palmer, in this system, has a special ‘free-role’ where, within the confines of the tactical set-up, he can roam wherever he wants to create situational overloads and to receive the ball, before attempting something audacious, like a sublime chance-creating pass or a speculative effort from range. As Maresca does prioritise the 3-2-5 set-up, you will mainly see Palmer camped in the right half-space, where he can look to link up with the right-winger. Finally, should Palmer vacate his position in the half-space, Gusto will momentarily move forward to occupy that position. Therefore, I felt this role was the best to recreate these things, within the confines of the positional play system – with these added instructions:
Both wingers in this system must hold the width, allowing for the full-backs to hold narrower positions. From these wide positions, both wingers must be on the shoulder of their opposing full-backs so they are in position to make penetrating runs in-behind. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the added instruction:
%20Inside%20Forward%20%E2%80%93%20Attack.webp "(AMR) Inside Forward – Attack")
Despite my explanation above perhaps suggesting otherwise, there is some differentiation between both wingers’ roles – the main one being that the left-winger is allowed to roam slightly from his position, as this will subsequently trigger Cucurella’s overlapping movement. Finally, the left-winger is less selfish, and this will see him shooting less and, as a result of that, scoring less in games. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the slight differentiation in added instructions, as seen below:
%20Inside%20Forward%20%E2%80%93%20Attack.webp "(AML) Inside Forward – Attack")
The striker in this system, mostly Jackson, has to provide a variety of skills and nuances in his game. At times, you’ll see Jackson drop deep to draw an opposition centre-back out of position – in these moments, he’ll usually distribute short to link play. But, also, you can see him make a run in-behind himself. To recreate this flexibility, I felt this role was perfect, with the added instruction:
In Football Manager 2024, I tested this tactic with Maresca’s Chelsea – this is how it got on:
In testing, we ended up winning the Premier League with comfort, as we finished with a 15-point gap between ourselves and 2nd! A lot of this success came from our stern defensive record, as we only conceded 21 goals in our 38 league games – this defensive record was also a crucial factor of our incredible win/draw/loss record, as we won 31 games, drew 6 games and lost just ONCE! Finally, our 103 league goals were 30 goals superior than 2nd place Man City!
This immense league success followed a promising Carabao Cup run, where we beat Man Utd to win the competition at Wembley. On our way to the final, we beat the likes of Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur 6-2 and 0-3 respectively. Unfortunately, however, we weren’t so successful in the FA Cup, despite another defiant run to the final, as a late Luis Diaz winner won the FA Cup for Liverpool in a 2-1 defeat. On our way to Wembley, we beat the likes of Spurs (0-3 again!) and Arsenal (2-0).
We completed a spectacular treble-winning season by beating German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties in the Conference League final! On our way to the final, we scored 8 goals over two legs against both Sparta Prague (2-8) and RC Lens (8-1), before coming from 1-0 down to beat Real Betis 4-1 on aggregate.
When Mauricio Pochettino left Chelsea by mutual consent and Chelsea replaced him with Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, a lot of eyebrows were raised by fans, pundits and neutrals alike, with many questioning whether the Italian was the right appointment. However, just a little over 7 months later, and those critiques have surely been silenced, as Maresca has guided Chelsea to an unexpected 4th place in the Premier League table – just 10 points off the league’s summit! In this article, I’ve provided my brief analysis of the tactics used by Maresca to achieve this, have used this analysis to recreate his tactics in Football Manager 2024 and have showcased the phenomenal results the tactic achieved in testing! If you want a taste of this thrilling tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article and follow FM Blog and myself on our respective socials. I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves! Thanks for reading!
Player Roles
Sweeper Keeper – Support
The ‘keeper in Chelsea’s system must be at least semi-comfortable with the ball and will look to, at times, offer himself as a passing option – this, however, isn’t as frequent as the likes of Man City, Arsenal or Liverpool in their respective set-ups. When Chelsea don’t have the ball, the ‘keeper has a slight responsibility to sweep, however, not all the time. Therefore, I felt this role was sufficient. No additional instructions.
Inverted Wing-Back – Support
As aforementioned, the right-back in this system is expected to move into midfield when Chelsea have the ball. From this central position, you can sometimes see the right-back, Gusto, and the attacking midfielder, Palmer, momentarily swap positions as Gusto can move further forward. When Chelsea don’t have the ball, the right-back can use his central positioning to try and put a halt to an opposition counter-attack, before moving back into his natural right-back position. Therefore, this role is perfect, with the added instructions:
Ball-Playing Defender – Defend
As with my Arne Slot Liverpool tactic, the roles of the two centre-backs may appear counter-intuitive. However, let me explain:
The right-sided centre-back in this system can look to carry forward at times from a safer, wider position. So, whilst the right-sided centre-back role in this system, Colwill, seems the more progressive, it’s actually the opposite. Personally, I feel this role is perfect, with the added instructions:
Central Defender – Defend
As mentioned above, the left-sided centre-back is actually the more progressive, as Colwill can use his excellent vision and passing ability to progress the ball up the pitch. To encourage this, I applied the ‘More Direct Passes’ and ‘Take More Risks’ instructions to this role, as seen below:
Full-Back – Attack
Once again, this role may appear counter-intuitive given the tactical analysis I wrote earlier in this article, however, once again there are certain factors that need to be taken into account:
Whilst Cucurella predominantly sits deeper to form the back-three in-possession, he is also given license to move further forward, overlap his winger and reach the byline for a cross/cut-back – as seen in Jackson’s goal in Chelsea’s 3-0 win against Aston Villa this season, where Cucurella moved higher and provided the assist for Jackson’s opener. To recreate these things, I felt this was the perfect role, with the added instructions:
Ball-Winning Midfielder – Defend
Caicedo’s role in this system is pretty simple – form the midfield double-pivot with Gusto and provide defensive cover, whether that be through an aggressive counter-press or by holding his position. This role could easily be a ‘Defensive Midfielder’ on the ‘Defend’ duty, however, I felt this role better encapsulated Caicedo as a player/profile. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect. No additional instructions.
Segundo Volante – Attack
As mentioned previously, Enzo Fernandez is given an intriguing ‘shuttling’ role where he can move between the build-up and frontline. He mainly looks to do this in the half-spaces, in an attempt to draw out the opposition full-back/centre-back. Along with this, he can also be a lateral goal-threat, getting on the end of cut-backs from the edge of the penalty area. Finally, when he has the ball, Enzo Fernandez is allowed to use his impressive vision and passing ability to create chances for team-mates, predominantly with through balls for the attackers to chase in-behind. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the added instructions:
Attacking Midfielder – Support
Cole Palmer, in this system, has a special ‘free-role’ where, within the confines of the tactical set-up, he can roam wherever he wants to create situational overloads and to receive the ball, before attempting something audacious, like a sublime chance-creating pass or a speculative effort from range. As Maresca does prioritise the 3-2-5 set-up, you will mainly see Palmer camped in the right half-space, where he can look to link up with the right-winger. Finally, should Palmer vacate his position in the half-space, Gusto will momentarily move forward to occupy that position. Therefore, I felt this role was the best to recreate these things, within the confines of the positional play system – with these added instructions:
(AMR) Inside Forward – Attack
Both wingers in this system must hold the width, allowing for the full-backs to hold narrower positions. From these wide positions, both wingers must be on the shoulder of their opposing full-backs so they are in position to make penetrating runs in-behind. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the added instruction:
%20Inside%20Forward%20%E2%80%93%20Attack.webp "(AMR) Inside Forward – Attack")
(AML) Inside Forward – Attack
Despite my explanation above perhaps suggesting otherwise, there is some differentiation between both wingers’ roles – the main one being that the left-winger is allowed to roam slightly from his position, as this will subsequently trigger Cucurella’s overlapping movement. Finally, the left-winger is less selfish, and this will see him shooting less and, as a result of that, scoring less in games. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the slight differentiation in added instructions, as seen below:
%20Inside%20Forward%20%E2%80%93%20Attack.webp "(AML) Inside Forward – Attack")
Complete Forward – Support
The striker in this system, mostly Jackson, has to provide a variety of skills and nuances in his game. At times, you’ll see Jackson drop deep to draw an opposition centre-back out of position – in these moments, he’ll usually distribute short to link play. But, also, you can see him make a run in-behind himself. To recreate this flexibility, I felt this role was perfect, with the added instruction:
Results
In Football Manager 2024, I tested this tactic with Maresca’s Chelsea – this is how it got on:
Premier League
In testing, we ended up winning the Premier League with comfort, as we finished with a 15-point gap between ourselves and 2nd! A lot of this success came from our stern defensive record, as we only conceded 21 goals in our 38 league games – this defensive record was also a crucial factor of our incredible win/draw/loss record, as we won 31 games, drew 6 games and lost just ONCE! Finally, our 103 league goals were 30 goals superior than 2nd place Man City!
Domestic Cups
This immense league success followed a promising Carabao Cup run, where we beat Man Utd to win the competition at Wembley. On our way to the final, we beat the likes of Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur 6-2 and 0-3 respectively. Unfortunately, however, we weren’t so successful in the FA Cup, despite another defiant run to the final, as a late Luis Diaz winner won the FA Cup for Liverpool in a 2-1 defeat. On our way to Wembley, we beat the likes of Spurs (0-3 again!) and Arsenal (2-0).
UEFA Europa Conference League
We completed a spectacular treble-winning season by beating German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties in the Conference League final! On our way to the final, we scored 8 goals over two legs against both Sparta Prague (2-8) and RC Lens (8-1), before coming from 1-0 down to beat Real Betis 4-1 on aggregate.
Conclusion
When Mauricio Pochettino left Chelsea by mutual consent and Chelsea replaced him with Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, a lot of eyebrows were raised by fans, pundits and neutrals alike, with many questioning whether the Italian was the right appointment. However, just a little over 7 months later, and those critiques have surely been silenced, as Maresca has guided Chelsea to an unexpected 4th place in the Premier League table – just 10 points off the league’s summit! In this article, I’ve provided my brief analysis of the tactics used by Maresca to achieve this, have used this analysis to recreate his tactics in Football Manager 2024 and have showcased the phenomenal results the tactic achieved in testing! If you want a taste of this thrilling tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article and follow FM Blog and myself on our respective socials. I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves! Thanks for reading!
