Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has admitted that has been “proven wrong” by Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca.

The former Liverpool defender says he has been surprised by how well the Italian has managed the first-team squad both on and off the pitch:

“I think the manager has done a brilliant job and to be honest I have been proven wrong a bit with Chelsea this season, I didn’t see this.”

“I thought it would be chopping and changing of players, and there was talk about leaving players out at the start of the season, but you go to a Chelsea game and you almost know what the team is. I thought that would be a problem, having so many players egos and people causing trouble on the training pitch, but that doesn’t seem to have happened, so fair play to the manager.”

Maresca has gotten off to a strong start at Chelsea

While some fans had doubts about the 44-year-old’s appointment, most (if not all) have been won around with the Blues sitting 3rd in the table after 11 games.

Since he was hired as head coach, Maresca has averaged 1.89 points per game, which is a better record than 4 of the last 5 permanent Chelsea managers. Only Thomas Tuchel (2.08) averaged a higher number.

There is more to come from this squad

Considering that Maresca has only been in charge for a matter of months, supporters will be very excited about what the future will hold.

The average age of the first-team squad is 24.0, which is the lowest figure in the English top flight. With exciting young players like Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez set to move to Stamford Bridge next summer too, the sky really is the limit for this talented young team.

Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here