‘We’ve been found out’: John Obi Mikel urges Enzo Maresca to copy Pep Guardiola trick amid Chelsea’s bad run of form

John Obi Mikel has sent a message to Enzo Maresca, with Chelsea really struggling under the Italian right now.

The Blues’ recent form has not been great. They lost 3-0 last time out against Brighton & Hove Albion, a defeat that saw them drop to sixth in the Premier League table.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	ChelseaChelsea	25	12	7	6	47	34	13	43

The above has seen John Obi Mikel go on a massive rant about his former side. According to Mikel, Enzo Maresca would have been sacked by now if Roman Abramovich still owned the club.

He has now urged the Chelsea manager to imitate Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola by doing one thing.

• READ MORE: What Enzo Maresca and Chelsea are ‘having meetings’ about will have Blues fans buzzing

Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images

John Obi Mikel claims Chelsea need to be more flexible

After a great start to the season, Mikel thinks Maresca and Chelsea have now been “found out”.

As a result, the retired midfielder wants to see Maresca imitate Guardiola and make tweaks to the team.

Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, Mikel said: “We’ve been found out. The Premier League is where clubs study you. I’ve said it so many times. Clubs study how you play and straight away they will stop you from doing exactly what you know how to. So you need to find a different way.

“You need to learn how to tweak things, just like Pep Guardiola is doing right now. [City] are not playing 20 passes to get to where they want. We saw against Newcastle at the weekend they went direct. You need to be creative and find a different way of winning games. Right now we’re not doing that. The players look like they’re out of ideas.”

Mikel also spoke about Victor Osimhen on his podcast, suggesting that the striker could still join Chelsea after his failed move to Stamford Bridge last summer.

Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images

Chelsea’s Premier League form

Chelsea’s recent form in the Premier League really has not been good enough, while Maresca’s side would have also been disappointed after being eliminated from the FA Cup earlier this month.

They have won just three of their last 10 games and are no longer in the top four.

• Friday 14th February
  Premier League

  • BrightonBrighton

    3|0

    ChelseaChelsea

• Monday 3rd February
  Premier League

  • ChelseaChelsea

    2|1

    West HamWest Ham

• Saturday 25th January
  Premier League

  • Man CityManchester City

    3|1

    ChelseaChelsea

• Monday 20th January
  Premier League

  • ChelseaChelsea

    3|1

    WolvesWolves

• Tuesday 14th January
  Premier League

  • ChelseaChelsea

    2|2

    B'mouthBournemouth

• Saturday 4th January
  Premier League

  • Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace

    1|1

    ChelseaChelsea

• Monday 30th December
  Premier League

  • IpswichIpswich

    2|0

    ChelseaChelsea

• Thursday 26th December
  Premier League

  • ChelseaChelsea

    1|2

    FulhamFulham

• Sunday 22nd December
  Premier League

  • EvertonEverton

    0|0

    ChelseaChelsea

• Sunday 15th December
  Premier League

  • ChelseaChelsea

    2|1

    BrentfordBrentford

Thankfully, fifth place could earn Champions League qualification this season, but there is no guarantee that Chelsea even finish there at this rate.

Bournemouth currently occupy that spot and have been fantastic under Andoni Iraola. In the coming weeks, Chelsea really need to step up.

If they do and can qualify for the Champions League and win the Conference League, then this campaign will go down as a successful one. If not, then Maresca could find himself in serious trouble.

Next up for Chelsea in the Premier League is a trip to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa.

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