With Maresca out, Chelsea appoints Under-21 boss McFarlane for Sunday's daunting City clash amid a chaotic 24 hours.
The sudden dismissal of Italian manager Enzo Maresca has forced Chelsea FC to rush to find a new coach who can lead the team in the upcoming Premier League match against Manchester City FC, which will be played this Sunday at Etihad Stadium.
For now, the name that has been mentioned most strongly is that of Englishman Liam Rosenior, the current manager of Ligue 1's Racing Strasbourg, a team owned by the same consortium, 'BlueCo', as Chelsea.
However, the 'Blues' will not have time to hire a new manager before visiting Pep Guardiola's Man City, which is why the London club has been forced to name an 'interim' manager to lead the team on its visit to Manchester. Calum McFarlane, coach of the Under-21 team, will participate in his first press conference with the first team.
Chelsea Names Interim Manager Calum McFarlane for Manchester City Clash
"It's been a mad 24 hours, a whirlwind as you can imagine, but it's also been really nice and exciting," he stated. "The energy and the enthusiasm in training were exceptional today," commented McFarlane, who worked in Man City's academy in the 2020-21 season before moving to Southampton and then to Chelsea.
"They look really focused, they are really motivated, hungry. They know we have a huge game on Sunday, and we are going to have to be at our best," he expressed about his players.
Chelsea is not in its best moment, with only one win in its last seven Premier League matches and the obligation to win to avoid falling further from the positions that grant access to the Champions League.
The match against City will be the first without Enzo Maresca, and it is truly difficult to predict what kind of team will show up at Etihad Stadium with an interim manager who will have barely two training sessions with the players.
Join The Conversation
Roundtablesports is Free to join! You can post your own thoughts, comment on articles, and start conversations with our Roundtable Writers. Scroll up to the top of the page and click 'Join'.
Download the FREE Roundtable APP, and get even easier access to your favourite teams and news!