Enzo Maresca has suggested that Chelsea's early-season exertions in the Club World Cup may be catching up with them, following a 2-2 draw against Qarabag in the Champions League. The Blues managed to scrape a point from their trip to Azerbaijan after falling behind 2-1. Estevao Willian gave Chelsea an early lead, sparking hopes of a successful journey for the west London club.

However, Maresca soon found himself despairing as his team let their opponents back into the match. Jorrel Hato's defensive blunder allowed Leandro Andrade to equalise before the ex-Ajax star was deemed to have committed a handball offence. Marko Jankovic successfully converted the resulting penalty, only for substitute Alejandro Garnacho to rescue a point for Chelsea.

Maresca made seven alterations to the line-up that triumphed over Tottenham and cited the Club World Cup campaign as a factor in his decision. He also criticised elements of Chelsea's performance at both ends of the pitch.

"The big difference today for me was inside the box," Maresca commented. "The goal we conceded, they are silly goals for me. In their box, for the amount of times that we arrived, we have not been clinical enough....