Enzo Maresca seemed to have gotten his lineup wrong against Ipswich.

The Blues lost 2-0 to Ipswich away at Portman Road, after Enzo Maresca decided to rotate his team.

Christopher Nkunku started out as a striker, but failed to convince in that role, while Axel Disasi struggled at right-back. Noni Madueke also failed to impress on his return, as Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho looked on from the bench.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has explained his decision to rotate the squad, emphasising the importance of giving opportunities to deserving players.

He said: “We made four changes from the last game because they all deserve to play. Now we’ve finished the first part of the season, no one expected us to be where we are. We are in a good position but we can do many things better. It’s a long race.”

Despite the team’s missed opportunities, Maresca dismissed the notion that Chelsea’s issues are tied to their strikers.

He reiterated Chelsea’s approach to taking each game as it comes, without getting distracted by title ambitions. “We focus game by game. We are not focused on title race or those things.”