Forgetting Lessons From The Past
People tend to forget—whether due to poor memory or selective avoidance. Chelsea, seemingly carried away by the hard-fought derby draw over the weekend, walked into the Leeds clash with clouded judgment. Even the club’s website published a detailed history of their rivalry with Leeds, dating back to the 1960s. Ironically, the intended audience should have been the players themselves.
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Maresca’s Costly Déjà Vu
Enzo Maresca also seemed to forget the painful lesson from his last defeat against Daniel Farke nearly two seasons ago, when a costly defensive error doomed his Leicester side. Tonight, a similar storyline unfolded. With both managers now standing at very different career heights, this upset feels even more unbelievable.
Discussion threads on 12BET MALAYSIA echoed the sentiment: Chelsea walked into a trap they had already experienced before.
Rotation With Good Intentions Wrong Execution
Maresca knows well that Chelsea collapsed last season around this exact period—after being held by Everton in early December. This explains his intention to implement heavy rotation, especially with eight matches packed into the month, including the Champions League and tough battles with Villa and Newcastle.
Even ironman Moisés Caicedo finally received rest after a straight-red suspension. He had started 50 of the club’s last 51 league games. And even he admitted during an interview, as highlighted by 12BET Malaysia reports, that his knee had been troubling him for months.
Still, the broader issue remains unresolved.
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The Real Collapse Comes From Within
What Maresca ignored is the real essence of last year’s December dip: over-rotation. Chelsea were closer to the top back then, but constant tinkering broke rhythm, structure, and belief. Big matches naturally bring out intensity and cohesion, but when facing opponents who only want to cause chaos, maintaining clarity becomes far harder.
Analysts at 12BET MALAYSIA branded this defeat a “self-inflicted setback.”
Vulnerable Against Direct Threats
Chelsea conceded their first goal because of a chaotic response to a long throw, gifting Leeds a corner. Bjør’s near-post run caused panic, while Draper failed to track, leaving Chalobah exposed.
Despite set pieces being a league-wide headache, Chelsea—one of the best set-piece attacking teams—have no excuse for repeatedly failing in their own area of strength.
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Lack Of Focus Not Lack Of Fight
Chelsea found their physical rhythm after the first 10 minutes and rarely lost duels afterward. The real issue was concentration. Losing second balls, misplacing passes in the most dangerous zones—these were the true turning points.
Tanaka’s thunderous strike was triggered by Enzo Fernández’s careless decision in the No. 10 role. Without Caicedo or Reece James behind him, his flaws in tempo and defensive awareness were ruthlessly exposed.
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Errors That Cannot Be Explained
The third goal was even more baffling. Chelsea slowed the tempo as instructed, but Gusto—whose strength lies in direct transitions—struggled inside the passing structure. His risky back-pass was questionable, but Tosin’s follow-up error was unforgivable.The defender once again proved that aerial presence and supposed leadership cannot compensate for consistently harmful decision-making. Even his close relationship with Palmer cannot shield him from criticism.
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Bench Impact Highlights The Gap
The difference between starters and backups remains enormous. Neto scored instantly after coming on, Garnacho looked sharper than Gittens on both flank duels and dribbles, and a half-fit Palmer nearly equalized from the edge of the box.
As 12BET MALAYSIA wrote: the squad has talent, but not enough depth to match Maresca’s idealistic demands.
No Reinforcements Forthcoming
Unfortunately, Maresca himself has warned not to expect activity in the winter transfer window. His hope of seeing a “clearer picture” by February or March depends entirely on surviving this brutal December stretch.
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