Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has shown his support to Manchester United counterpart Ruben Amorim, insisting poor form is inevitable from a manager adjusting to a new league.
The pressure is firmly on Amorim after his disappointing start to life in Manchester continued into the 2025–26 campaign, which has started with three defeats from five games and elimination from the Carabao Cup at the hands of League Two’s Grimsby Town.
The next test for Amorim and United is a visit from Chelsea. Maresca will be in the away dugout but could have easily been heading up the home side, having been considered by the Red Devils as a possible replacement for Erik ten Hag.
“I think Manchester United is a big club, they have a big manager and no doubt that they are going to do important things with Ruben,” he said.
“The only thing I can say is that I really appreciate Ruben. I’ve watched Ruben’s games since he was in Sporting. He’s a magnificent manager. Like all the managers, when you start a new project, sometimes you can struggle a little bit more or a little bit less, but at the end, you’re going to struggle. I don’t have any doubt that he’s a fantastic manager.”
“I am Chelsea manager, happy to be here,” Maresca continued. “In the moment that Chelsea [contacted] me for the first time, I said already many times, I was immediately convinced and sure.
“First of all, because of the club, how big it is and then because of the squad, because the squad for me last year was very good, and this season it’s also very good.”
Chelsea will hope to bounce back from midweek defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League by becoming the latest side to pile on Amorim, whose United outfit have a history of producing their best performances in bigger games.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Going to Struggle’—Enzo Maresca Gives Ruben Amorim Sack Verdict.