Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca forced to rip up Man Utd plans ahead of showdown

Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca has been left scrambling to adjust his tactics for the upcoming clash with Manchester United after Erik ten Hag was shown the door at Old Trafford.

Despite the hours spent analysing the struggling Red Devils, Maresca admits there’s a silver lining. The Italian tactician expressed sorrow over a fellow coach’s dismissal but is pleased for his old pal Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy, who once shared the field with Maresca at Malaga, has stepped into the fray as interim manager following his stint at PSV Eindhoven in 2023.

Maresca hasn’t reached out to Van Nistelrooy yet and doesn’t plan to before their potential face-off at Old Trafford on Sunday, but he’s already delving into the archives of his friend’s tenure at PSV.

“I guess it would be Ruud,” Maresca said when asked who he could face this weekend. “But he’s a friend of mine. We played together. We spent years together in Malaga. We have still relations. So I think it would be Ruud.

“We have started to watch some PSV games. Unfortunately, we had already watched many Man United games. At the moment, I’m sad for Erik. But at the same time, I’m happy for Ruud.

“As I said, he’s a friend of mine. Hopefully, I can see him on Sunday. I’m starting to watch PSV games.”

The ex-Leicester City manager is once again in danger of seeing his efforts go to waste, though.

Sporting head coach, Ruben Amorim, is being lined up for the United managerial position ahead of Sunday’s match, with the Red Devils ready to pay £8.3million to trigger his release clause and bring him to Manchester.

Maresca also revealed that centre-back Wesley Fofana will likely be in pain for the remainder of his career following his injury troubles.

The defender needed strapping on his knee to finish the match against Newcastle after going down with a problem, and Maresca said: “He had a bad moment in the first-half, very bad, but he is better.

“He was probably playing with pain. In one of my last press conferences, I said I really love Wes because it is not easy playing after one year out and come back and be a fighter in the way he is.

“Now he is fighting with pain. When you have that kind of injury, you will probably feel pain for the rest of your career, unfortunately it is like this. But he finished well and he looks okay.”