Jamie Carragher sends stern warning to Enzo Maresca after Chelsea boss laments “worst 48 hours”

Chelsea’s 2–0 win over Everton should have been a moment to relieve pressure, but instead it sparked fresh controversy after Enzo Maresca described the build-up to the match as “the worst 48 hours” of his time at the club. The Italian’s cryptic remarks have since drawn criticism and prompted questions about tensions behind the scenes.

On Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Jamie Carragher delivered a blunt assessment of Maresca’s comments, warning that the Chelsea head coach is putting himself in a dangerous position by publicly calling out perceived lack of support.

Maresca refused to name who he felt had failed to support him and his players, but Carragher insisted there was no mystery about who the message was aimed at.

“He’s speaking about the owners and the sporting directors,” Carragher said. “It’s clear. This is a classic case you see at a lot of clubs now — you have a head coach, not a manager, and the sporting structure above him.”

Carragher explained that tensions often arise when a head coach feels their over-performance should earn them greater influence. In Maresca’s case, last season delivered Champions League qualification, a European trophy and the Club World Cup. But despite that success, he still operates within a heavily centralised recruitment model.

According to Carragher, Maresca was “really disappointed” that Chelsea did not enter the summer market for a centre-back after Levi Colwill’s serious injury — a decision that appears to have contributed to the strain building behind the scenes.

Carragher acknowledged that Maresca may have legitimate frustrations, but believes his decision to go public crossed a line.

“He’s calling something out that he wants in public, which I don’t agree with,” he said. “We talked about Mo Salah last week — that was extreme — but it was a similar situation. I don’t like players or managers doing that. You sort it in-house.”

The former Liverpool defender emphasised that in any confrontation between a head coach and the hierarchy, particularly at a club of Chelsea’s scale, there is “only going to be one winner. And it’s not him.”

Carragher later doubled down, suggesting Maresca’s long-term future at the club looks uncertain if this pattern continues.

“I don’t think Enzo Maresca is manager at Chelsea next season,” Carragher said. “When you come out and speak about the ownership like that, publicly, that’s a big problem.”

Maresca is not the first Chelsea head coach to publicly reflect frustration at the club’s structure. Mauricio Pochettino voiced similar concerns about direction and squad-building before their departures. Chelsea’s model places heavy strategic power with the ownership and sporting directors — and historically, public disagreement has not been tolerated.

Although Maresca has lifted silverware and improved Chelsea’s competitiveness, Carragher’s warning echoes a wider sentiment: the club moves quickly when a head coach is perceived to be misaligned with the hierarchy.

Maresca’s comments feel less like an emotional outburst and more like a calculated message. Whether intended to secure backing ahead of the January window or to protect his squad during a difficult run, it nonetheless exposes internal friction that could become destabilising.

Some argue Maresca has earned the right to push for stronger influence after last season’s achievements. But at Chelsea, structural disputes tend to end in only one way. If results dip again over Christmas, the pressure around the head coach’s position will intensify quickly.

Chelsea travel to Cardiff City on Wednesday for their Carabao Cup quarter-final, followed by a tough Premier League trip to Newcastle United on Saturday, 20 December.

With tensions simmering and fixtures piling up, Maresca’s response — on and off the pitch — will be watched closely.