Enzo Maresca changes bring Chelsea to life but West Ham win may come at a cost
Enzo Maresca had forecast a flood of relief to arrive at 11pm on Monday night, marking the moment the January transfer window shut.
In the end, it came an hour earlier than billed, with the full-time whistle of a hard-won, slightly fortuitous 2-1 victory over West Ham that sends his Chelsea side back into the top-four.
For Levi Colwill, that feeling of relief will be even more acute, after the centre-back gifted the returning Jarrod Bowen the Hammersās opening goal with a horrible backpass.
Credit to Maresca, not always the sharpest with his substitutions, for acting fast. Four changes were made before the hour and among them Pedro Netoās introduction turned the game.
The Portuguese gave the home side that penetration that had been missing in the opening period, when Chelsea dominated the stats but looked passive on the eye. Cole Palmerās free-kick in first-half stoppage time, brilliantly tipped over by Alphonse Areola, was their first shot on target after eight gone awry.
Neto struck the leveller after some pinball in the box, before Palmerās cross took a wicked deflection off Aaron Wan-Bissaka and looped in. Still then, it took a terrific Tosin Adarabioyo block to deny Mohammed Kudus a leveller seconds from the end.
This was only the Bluesās second league win in eight games and among the ugliest of the Maresca tenure which. Given the off-field distractions at the transfer marketās conclusion, it was one to please the Italian no end.
Filip Jorgensen fails to make compelling case
Filip Jorgensen did not cover himself in glory for Chelsea
John Walton/PA Wire
As one window drew to a close, another opened, at last, for Filip Jorgensen.
The young goalkeeperās stock has soared in recent weeks with each Robert Sanchez error and here Maresca, steadfast in backing his No1 until now, clearly felt a tipping point had been reached.
Sanchez was dragged out of the firing in line and Jorgensen inserted for a third league start of the campaign, but first outside of broader rotation, which Maresca had employed at Ipswich and Southampton.
The cheer for the 22-year-oldās name before kick-off was abnormally loud, edging even favourites like Cole Palmer and Reece James as evidence of the extent to which Stamford Bridge patience with Sanchez had run out.
In a jittery start though, Jorgensen perhaps gave a glimpse as to why Maresca has not been quite as hasty as some would have liked to make the switch.
There was an early spilt cross, an errant clearance straight to Emerson and one straight to Danny Ings in stoppage time that might have had dearer consequences had the striker not tried to finish from 50 yards.
There was enough, in other words, to suggest the deputy himself felt the pressure of a chance a long time in the post and there may well have been a degree of ring rust, too. At one stage in the campaign, Jorgensen was playing every week, looking sharp and putting pressure on Sanchez on account of his own form, rather than just his teammateās lack of it.
Last month, though, he played only once, against Morecambe in the Third Round of the FA Cup. Who starts as the cup ākeeper in the Fourth Round at Brighton this weekend will be telling of where the land now lies.
Chelseaās squad issues exposed
Nicolas Jackson gave Chelsea a cause for concern by going down injured
Action Images via Reuters
A fuller analysis of this transfer window will follow in time, once it finally closes on Monday night, but there were enough moments here to make you wonder whether Chelsea might have left themselves a touch light with the number of exits sanctioned this month.
Joao Felix and Axel Disasi were each putting the finishing touches on loan moves into the final hours of the window, joining Cesare Casadei, Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Renato Veiga in heading for the door.
Meanwhile, first Nicolas Jackson and Reece James gave Maresca injury scares with awkward landings here. Both were able to continue (though neither lasted beyond an hour) but as each lay on the turf you ran the numbers and concluded that, given the volume of football the Blues still have to play this term, they are possibly a body short at full-back, attack and deep midfield.
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