Chelsea REACTION since Maresca’s departure | Calum McFarlane | Man City v Chelsea

Football

Year2026

Duration10m

Watch Now

7.0

Chelsea U21s head coach Calum McFarlane will temporarily take charge of first-team affairs following the departure of Enzo Maresca. McFarlane is preparing for Sunday's clash against Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro 0:01 It's been a crazy 24 hours, a whirlwind as you can imagine, but also really enjoyable and exciting. I can only be positive about it. 0:25 Relationship with Maresca? Traditional relationship you have as the U21s manager and the first-team manager. A lot of our players were used by the senior team, so a professional relationship. 0:50 There's a really good culture at the club, in terms of the support from the first team, the directors, everyone seems interested. There's always a bit of an academy presence there [at U21s matches]. In all honesty, it's exactly the same as it always has been. We're all here for the same reason. Training was great today, there was a really good energy. 1:58 Players response? You don't know what to expect, really, but the energy and enthusiasm was exceptional today. They were really focused, driven and hungry. We have a massive game on Sunday. Reece has been brilliant, he has been a real leader in the group and helped the staff and players to get ready for Sunday. 2:50 Taking on Pep? Ultimately it's a football match. It's not about me, my first game or playing against Pep - it's Chelsea vs City. Two top sides, we'll go there and compete. We've seen this year how this team can do in big moments. 3:32 Cucurella? We're undecided on that, so I don't have the full information on that yet. I'm sure it will come out in the next couple of days. 4:30 I’ve spoken to the directors and owners. Nothing more I can ask for, they have been with us. 4:52 Andy Ross and James Simmons, my assistants for the U21s. Adam Keith, who is the analyst for the U21s. Bernardo still here, the set piece coach. 5:18 It's difficult to pick a team. You're going to leave people out and disappoint people. We'll pick the best team that we feel is ready to play that game an