Enzo Maresca's divisive Chelsea decision can be understood as £58m question needs to be answered

The main talking points from Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Qarabag in Baku on Wednesday evening as Enzo Maresca's decision to make seven changes comes under the spotlight

Three times this season Enzo Maresca has been forced into a triple substitution at half-time with the Chelsea head coach essentially throwing Plan A out of the window.

Wednesday evening's thrilling draw with Qarabag saw Maresca make three changes at the half-time break for a third time this season. And we're only at the beginning of November. On came Enzo Fernandez, Liam Delap and Alejandro Garnacho to try and wrestle the game back from Qarabag, who were a goal up at the stoppage in Baku.

Maresca made seven changes to the side that beat Tottenham on Saturday, and while this divided supporters, it is easy to understand why. Chelsea's workload in recent weeks has been very high - and while other sides have similar problems, the Blues' situation is fairly unique given their involvement right until the very conclusion of the Club World Cup in the summer.

The west Londoners played the final of the revamped competition on July 13 in New Jersey and returned to pre-season training a little over three weeks after Reece James lifted the trophy high stateside. Said pre-season lasted just 13 days before it was back to proper business for the Blues.

While Chelsea's start to the campaign has been positive, bar a few slip-ups, the impact of the Club World Cup is clear for everybody to see. So it comes as no surprise that Maresca altered from the XI that narrowly beat Spurs a little over 72 hours before their clash in Azerbaijan.

Moises Caicedo was one of those in need of a rest. The Ecuadorian, while being in incredible form this season, has been struggling with his fitness in recent weeks. Maresca has said on numerous occasions that Caicedo is carrying a knock and has been playing through the pain barrier.

Caicedo probably would have come on at some point at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, but inside the first 10 minutes was nothing short of a disaster for Maresca. Though the Chelsea head coach was left with very little choice when Romeo Lavia pulled up with a quad injury.

It meant Caicedo virtually played 90 minutes on Wednesday evening, with the Blues flying back later on the same night ahead of their preparations for the visit of Wolves on Saturday evening.

Chelsea knew the threat of Qarabag coming into the game and the Azerbaijani side’s ability and spirit was showcased in a strange match in Baku. Fernandez was brought on to try and steady the ship, with the intention to also add more creativity in the final third. Delap is more of a natural No.9 option than Tyrique George, while Garnacho adds something different to Jamie Gittens, who was perhaps a tad unfortunate to be hooked.

In fairness to Maresca, the substitutions changed the game. It was Delap who played the ball to Garnacho for Chelsea's equaliser, while Fernandez certainly added a fresh bite when the visitors were moving forward in Azerbaijan's capital city.

That, though, is not the point. You don't need reminding of the sort of money Chelsea have spent in assembling this very talented, yet extremely young, squad. But this group of players have been brought to the club in order to deal with nights like these, when the head coach decides to make wholesale changes. Qarabag, while a good side, are a team Chelsea should be beating - and on another night, they probably would have.

Maresca likes to make changes - and has made 85 in total to his starting line-ups this season and averages up to six per match - he has shown that throughout his time as head coach. And the Italian is usually very good at it; managing players' minutes, football.london understands that it is one of the many attributes that the club believe make Maresca such a talented coach.

It worked in the Conference League last season. Chelsea were able to field more or less completely different sides from a Premier League game to a fixture in Europe's third-tier competition. It worked against Benfica and Ajax, too, but against a plucky, determined side such as Qarabag, about 2500 miles from home in a hostile atmosphere, it backfired for the Chelsea head coach.

The Blues will now do as much as possible in terms of preparation for the visit of Wolves on Saturday evening, with the staff and players set to land in the UK in the early hours of Thursday morning. Saturday night’s match at Stamford Bridge, though, is not expected to include Lavia, with fears the Belgian midfielder could be set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Another muscular problem for the 21-year-old, who has suffered torrid fortune - to say the very least - with injuries since signing for Chelsea in 2023. Lavia has missed a whopping 77 matches in all competitions since the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign.

Chelsea will run tests on Lavia when they are back in Cobham but the early signs were not good. Maresca said: "We feel a shame, especially for him because he’s not able to be fit for a long, long period. We will see now as it’s too early to understand what kind of injury. Hopefully it is not a big injury."

Depending on how long Lavia is out for, it leaves Chelsea short of natural options in the centre of midfield. Fernandez and Caicedo are first choice, while it seems Andrey Santos is becoming more and more trusted by Maresca as time goes on. James and Malo Gusto have slotted into the centre of the pitch, while Josh Acheampong is also a left-field option for the head coach. Dario Essugo remains absent with a thigh problem, with the Portugal Under-21 international not expected to return until December-January time after having surgery on the problem back in September.

The latest injury for Lavia, who was signed for £58million in August 2023, leaves question marks over his Chelsea future. The Blues have tried, Maresca has tried, but they have not - up until this point - been able to find a way to keep him on the pitch. And that is a real shame because his significance to the side is evident for all to see.

What next for Lavia? Chelsea are not going to make any rash decisions, and this is not saying it should be the end. But it cannot go on like this for the player or the club.