The players have more energy - Enzo Maresca speaks on what to expect from Chelsea's new season

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca believes the club’s spectacular end to last season will give his players the momentum they need heading into the 2025/26 campaign.

However, he is also mindful of the physical and mental toll a demanding summer has taken on his squad, with the shortened pre-season presenting new challenges.

The Blues ended the 2024/25 season on a high, clinching fourth place in the Premier League, lifting the UEFA Conference League, and finishing with a historic triumph in the Club World Cup, where they beat Paris Saint-Germain in the final on July 13 in New Jersey.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s pre-season friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan in the VisitMalta Weekender at Stamford Bridge, Maresca revealed that his players only returned to pre-season training earlier this week.

“I can see that the mood is different, or much better. When you finish the season the way we finished – getting top four, winning the Conference League, and then the Club World Cup – I think it gives the players more energy and a boost,” Maresca said.

Despite the good vibes, the Italian manager admitted that preparations for the new season are far from ideal.

“We played 64 games, and some of the players haven’t stopped playing for more than a year in a row. That is something that has never happened before. So, the main focus was just to allow them to recover,” he explained.

This summer marked the first-ever expanded Club World Cup, and Chelsea’s participation extended their season well beyond that of most European clubs.

Their first league opponents, Crystal Palace, began pre-season the day after Chelsea’s campaign officially ended in the USA.

“We had three weeks off, started four days ago, and we have two friendly games before the Premier League starts. We need to be ready in any case, and it’s important to start again in the way we finished last season, even though it was a strange end,” Maresca noted.

Chelsea fans will get their first glimpse of the squad’s form this evening when the Blues face Bayer Leverkusen, with a follow-up match against AC Milan scheduled for Sunday.