Winning the FIFA Club World Cup marked the end of a fine season for Chelsea under coach Enzo Maresca. With this, a very long marathon season for Chelsea is also over.
Afraid, maybe it will have a negative impact on the performance of the next team? Cole Palmer's superb performance inspired Chelsea to beat Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3-0 at the MetLife Stadium. This was Chelsea's 64th game in the last 11 months.
Chelsea finished fourth in the English Premier League and won the Europa Conference League. As far as achievements go, this has been at least a pleasant season for Chelsea. Coach Maresca was Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City. Under his leadership, Leicester City achieved promotion to the Premier League.
"This season has been great, I am very happy for my players," said the Italian coach. It is not enough for a player to have talent, as we have said many times. It's a challenge to get all the players together.' This season has been a sign of progress for the Stanford Bridge club, as Chelsea were in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first two seasons.
Jo Pedro has been impressive for Chelsea in the current Club World Cup. He came to Chelsea from Brighton, interrupting his vacation. Chelsea paid 79 million dollars for this Brazilian player. Lian Delap, Dario Isago, Mamadou Saar and Andre Santos have played their best during their stay in America.
Chelsea won the title and won 115 million dollars. But will it really prove costly for Chelsea? Next season, Chelsea will be plagued by the problem of players who have played continuously. While Chelsea were busy in America, Premier League winners Liverpool and runners-up Arsenal were busy building their teams. Their players also got a long holiday.
City did not last long in the Club World Cup. According to FIFA-Pro, the world organization of players, star players must play more games in one season. The proposed solution is that there should be a mandatory four-week vacation between seasons and a four-week preparation period before the new season. Chelsea could not get any such facilities.
Chelsea will face Crystal Palace in their first league game of next season. It's on August 17th. It will take place five weeks after the Club World Cup final. Chelsea will also play a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen earlier. Maresca says, 'I have been working continuously for the last 15 months, I need the next three weeks off.'
