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Enzo Maresca has left his role as <\/b>Chelsea<\/b><\/a> manager with the club sitting fifth in the Premier League.<\/b><\/p>\n The Italian, 45, departs less than six months after winning the Club World Cup<\/a> at the end of his first season at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n “With key objectives still to play for across four competitions including qualification for Champions League football, Enzo and the Club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting the season back on track,” Chelsea<\/a> said.<\/p>\n The Blues have won just one of their past seven league matches and took only six points from six games in December to fall 15 points behind leaders Arsenal<\/a>.<\/p>\n But results are only a small part of the story.<\/p>\n Maresca delighted key figures at Stamford Bridge – including sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and influential co-owner Behdad Eghbali – by steering Chelsea<\/a> to a top-four finish and winning the Uefa Conference League<\/a> and Club World Cup last year.<\/p>\n Yet success soon turned to sourness in his relationship with the hierarchy.<\/p>\n Maresca stunned even members of his own staff when – after beating Everton<\/a> 2-0 for Chelsea<\/a>‘s solitary Premier League win in December – he said “many people” had made it his “worst 48 hours” since joining the club.<\/a><\/p>\n Those comments came without any warning to club staff or senior management, who would have preferred any discussions to remain private.<\/p>\n But friction had been brewing in the months before that.<\/p>\n Maresca had hoped to raise his profile following the Blues’ successes through opportunities outside the club. He was planning to publish a book before being blocked, and spoke at Il Festival dello Sport – an event in Italy organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper – without the club’s permission.<\/p>\n He also made public that he disagreed with the club<\/a> not signing a central defender after Levi Colwill injured his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season. The club’s hierarchy explained that doing so could prompt academy prospect Josh Acheampong to request a transfer, which ultimately led Maresca to back down.<\/p>\n The former Leicester manager has also switched agents – from the Wasserman agency to Jorge Mendes – and has been talked of as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City<\/a>, which Maresca has dismissed.<\/p>\n In addition, he has increasingly avoided wearing club tracksuits – opting instead for his own clothing.<\/p>\n Following his last game with Chelsea<\/a> – a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth<\/a> on 30 December – assistant manager Willy Caballero said Maresca felt too unwell to do his post-match media duties, but it is understood his absence was more due to his disillusionment at the club.<\/p>\n And it was noticeable that when Chelsea<\/a> posted a 52-second video on social media on New Year’s Eve summarising their year, there was no trace of Maresca.<\/p>\n The Italian, for his part, believed the pressure on him was unfair given what he felt were difficult working conditions, and that a line had been crossed in terms of attempts to influence his team selection.<\/p>\n While he was not angry about overseeing a young squad, he felt supporters’ expectations needed to be managed regarding what was achievable – especially given key injuries to Colwill and attacker Cole Palmer.<\/p>\n Chelsea<\/a> initially intended to assess his position at the end of the season if results improved, but Maresca’s unhappiness was a factor in them parting ways sooner.<\/p>\n The Blues’ next match is against second-placed Manchester City<\/a> on Sunday – starting a difficult month that also includes games against Arsenal<\/a> and Napoli.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n