Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca needs results to improve but issues off the pitch are adding to the pressure, BBC Sport's Nizaar Kinsella explains.
At the end of November, Chelsea appeared in a harmonious place, with the club sitting third in the Premier League and having recently dismantled Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League.
But December saw the bubble burst with just one league win.
Yet it is not just results which mean manager Enzo Maresca has come under increased pressure.
Potential fissures have emerged between the Italian and the club's hierarchy.
Maresca stunned key figures and his own staff when, after that solitary December league win - 2-0 at home to Everton - he made his remark that "many people" had caused his "worst 48 hours" since joining the club.
Those comments came from a position of strength after a good performance and win, but they were viewed dimly by the hierarchy, at whom they appeared to be aimed.
However, the comments were also met with cool heads, and the plan remained to conduct an end-of-season review to decide whether to move forward or part company with Maresca.
With just one win in the past seven league matches, Chelsea are now closer to 15th place (seven points away) than third (nine points) in the Premier League table, a situation that has compounded to threaten Maresca's job.
Chelsea next face Manchester City away without suspended key midfielder Moises Caicedo, to start a difficult month that also includes games against Arsenal and Napoli.
It is likely, therefore, that January will be a defining period.
Chelsea's primary goal is to qualify for the Champions League, which remains realistic with the club fifth on 30 points after 19 games, while also aiming for cup runs and they have reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
What happened to Maresca behind the scenes?
Chelsea were satisfied with Maresca at the end of last season after he delivered Champions League qualification - regarded internally as his most important achievement - plus a Uefa Conference League win, which had broadly been expected, and a Club World Cup triumph, which came as a welcome surprise.
There was genuine delight and backing among key figures at Stamford Bridge, including sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart, and influential owner Behdad Eghbali.
In line with the agreed strategy when appointing Maresca from Leicester City in 2024 - for which the club paid £10m - he focused on coaching the team while those above him oversaw much of the backroom staff, medical department and transfers.
The transfer policy - signing the world's best young players from lesser leagues to create the youngest team in the Premier League - remains in place.
Maresca will have known what he was signing up for. His complaints are not about the quality of his players or the strategy, but about the perception of his work with this young group.
The Italian is encouraged to rotate his squad, but he often feels that when he does so in the Premier League, his team drops points. He has also openly urged reporters to question the hierarchy.
Those familiar with his thinking say he has defended his work because he believes he is performing better than many have acknowledged, given the squad's age. He also feels the club should have offered him stronger protection from external criticism.
Maresca has sought to raise his own profile following recent success. He had planned to publish a book - blocked by the club - and spoke at Il Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy, without Chelsea's permission, at an event organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.
His "worst 48 hours" comments came without prior warning to club staff or senior management, who would have preferred such discussions to remain private. The remarks even surprised members of his own team.
Maresca also publicly criticised Chelsea for failing to sign a central defender after Levi Colwill suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in pre-season. The hierarchy explained that doing so could prompt promising academy prospect Josh Acheampong to request a transfer, which ultimately led Maresca to back down.
There has also been a switch of agents - from the Wasserman agency to Jorge Mendes - alongside links to a potential move to replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, which Maresca has denied.
In addition, he has increasingly avoided wearing club tracksuits, opting instead for his own clothing.
Chelsea have a history of poor December form, collecting just 62 points from a possible 120 over the past seven seasons. Last season, they endured a stretch of only two wins from mid-December through the final week of February.
This context shows that Chelsea could have taken bad spells on the chin previously - the situation remains recoverable - but those other factors which have strained his relations with the club hierarchy now mean results are essential to strengthen Maresca's position.
Can Chelsea move forward?
Chelsea face a packed January schedule across four competitions.
They begin with a Premier League trip to Manchester City, followed by a series of London derbies - home and away - against Fulham, Crystal Palace, Brentford, and West Ham before the end of the month.
In addition, they have an FA Cup third-round tie away to Charlton, a Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Premier League leaders Arsenal, and two crucial Champions League fixtures: at home to Pafos and away to Napoli.
Chelsea realistically need to win both European games to avoid the play-off round and secure a top-eight finish in the league phase.
It is looking like a low bar for 2026-27 Champions League qualification based on the early part of this domestic season, with fifth place in the Premier League potentially enough and 1.6 points per game the current benchmark in a tight table to securing the spot.
Category: General Sports
