Inside Chelsea's emergency team meeting after Enzo Maresca left blindsided

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Enzo Maresca has revealed he held an emergency team meeting just minutes before Chelsea faced Sunderland . The manager had studied the Black Cats at length ahead of the clash at Stamford Bridge, watching each of their nine fixtures in league and cup competitions.

But his preparations were tarnished as Regis Le Bris submitted his team sheet. While Sunderland had utilised a back four from the start in each of their matches, they set up more defensively against Chelsea , with five defenders deployed to protect Robin Roefs' goal.

As the team news was released at 1.45pm, Maresca , who was in his coaches' office - which also operates as a debriefing bunker alongside the Chelsea executives after home matches - when he found out, called a team meeting, where he told his game plan and dished out their new instructions. They had spent the week preparing for a match against two full-backs and centre-halves apiece. However, it ultimately proved unfruitful.

While the hosts took the lead four minutes into the match through Alejandro Garnacho , Wilson Isidor equalised ahead of half-time, as Sunderland parked the bus and made themselves impossible to play through. While the game seemed set to finish as a tie, Chemsdine Talbi then scored a shock winner for the visitors three minutes into stoppage time to make the journey back to Wearside with all three points.

Frustrated by the Black Cats' game plan, Maresca told Football.London how his own side's preparations were deemed surplus to requirements moments before the match. He said: "The thing that we need to improve and we need to learn, and it's something that I'm saying to the players every day, is now that teams, probably because of what we achieved last season, teams have changed against us.

"Sunderland, nine games in the Premier League , they never played with a back five from the start. Never. They played nine games, I watched all the nine games from Sunderland before our game.

"Never. They finished with a back five, they were winning 1-0, so to defend the last 10 minutes, they had a back five. But from the start, never.

"So we prepared a Sunderland game against a back four, thinking that probably they will be a back five. So before the game, in the changing room, before the players go out for a warm-up, I need to tell the players, 'Guys, all the Sunderland preparation, do like this, tac-tac-tac-tac, and put in the rubbish.'

"That's why it's so difficult. The plan for today, now, is this. In ten minutes, we need to change the plan. So it's different when we know that team, they are back five, and we prepare with back five."

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According to the Mail , Maresca set his analysts a new task after the match - telling them to look over last season's losses to sides who set up in a similar way for clues on how Chelsea can better break them down going forward.

Maresca also explained how Ange Postecoglou utilised a similar formation against Chelsea when Nottingham Forest hosted the club at the City Ground earlier in the season. He added: "Four weeks ago, I was in London for the LMA award.

"I was with Ange [Postecoglou], before he took the job with Forest. We were speaking, and I said, 'Ange, I've never seen your team play back five, apart from the last 10 minutes of the Europa League final against United'.

"He started to laugh, and he said, 'I hate to play back five, but because it was the last 10 minutes, and we need to win the title, I said, 'OK, I don't care, we play back five'. We played Forest, it was a back five.

"And I prepared the game against a back four. So before the warm-up, before the play-out, guys, all the plan, rubbish, back five. This is difficult for the players. It's not when you know that you play against a team, that they always play a back five.

"OK, we prepare all week, or two, three days, for how we can win the game. And we know how to win the game. The problem is when you face a team, that they are back four, arrive here, back five, sit back. It's more complicated. This is the only difference."

Chelsea's game against Forest ended contrastingly to their match against Sunderland, running out 3-0 winners away from home in a match that Postecoglou was sacked after. Thanks to their win at the weekend, Sunderland briefly climbed to second in the Premier League standings, holding five wins, two draws and two losses from their opening nine matches.

After Sunday's matches, however, they dropped to fourth on account of Bournemouth and Tottenham winning their games against Forest and Everton respectively. The Black Cats now turn their attention to Everton at the Stadium of Light come Monday while Chelsea travel to Tottenham.

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