Chelsea news: Club legend claims Chelsea made "massive mistake" sacking Maresca

Chelsea Champions League winner John Obi Mikel has said the club made a "ridiculous" mistake in sacking Enzo Maresca and believes they have gone "five steps backwards" after hiring Liam Rosenior.

The Italian left the club amid a disagreement with the Stamford Bridge hierarchy. At Chelsea, Maresca won the Conference League and the Club World Cup, as well as leading the Blues to Champions League qualification in his first season in charge.

Beyond the controversies involving the Chelsea hierarchy, Maresca endured a run of just one win in his final seven Premier League matches, something that significantly contributed to his downfall.

Mikel slams decision to replace Maresca

To replace the Italian, the Blues brought in Liam Rosenior. With the Englishman's arrival, despite Mikel's opinion, Chelsea have shown significant improvement in results under the former Strasbourg coach.

But after dropping points at home to Burnley and Leeds in recent weeks, Rosenior has started to face criticism. Among them, those from Mikel, who said on his Obi One podcast that the club were wrong to let the Italian go.

"We had Enzo Maresca. I have said it, I think it was a massive mistake to sack him. I mean, it is ridiculous," Mikel said. "Yeah, a manager that won us the Club World Cup, won us the Conference League, we had some sort of identity the way we played. We took a step forward, and we have gone five steps backwards."

Early impressions of Rosenior's work

After a relatively comfortable start to life at the helm, Rosenior now faces a challenging run of fixtures. Chelsea take on rivals (and Premier League leaders) Arsenal and Aston Villa (one of the surprises of the season) away from home in their next two matches, before hosting two more tough opponents: Newcastle and Manchester City.

"Liam has come in, and he has won games, but there is absolutely something that is missing. Something is not quite right," Mikel said.

The first month in charge of Chelsea brought hope in Liam Rosenior's work. In less than 30 days, the manager transformed the mood at Stamford Bridge by building a five-match winning streak against Brentford, Crystal Palace and West Ham in the Premier League, as well as two triumphs in the Champions League against Pafos and Napoli.

One aspect that has changed positively is the Blues' attack, with Joao Pedro as one of the standout performers. The English coach appears to have an excellent relationship with the striker.

Despite Mikel's criticism, since the defeat to Arsenal on February 3, Chelsea have gone four matches unbeaten (2 wins and 2 draws). Even so, with the stumbles at home, they have seen rivals Manchester United overtake them and now sit in fifth place.

Rosenior's side's next fixture is against Arsenal, away from home, on March 1 in matchweek 28 of the Premier League.