Enzo Maresca: Erik ten Hag sacking makes Manchester United a tougher opponent for Chelsea

Maresca takes his fifth-placed broadside to Manchester connected Sunday looking to proceed their good commencement to the Premier League season, with the sole defeats nether the Italian coming against Man City and Liverpool.

United, by contrast, are languishing successful 14th, but the complexion of this weekend’s gathering has changed aft Ten Hag was relieved of his duties earlier this week.

Van Nistelrooy led United to a morale-boosting 5-2 triumph implicit Leicester successful the Carabao Cup successful midweek. That result, coupled with Amorim’s imminent arrival, has lifted the temper successful Manchester and asked whether Chelsea a much hard situation than looked apt a week ago, Maresca said: “Yes, for sure.”

“When you alteration manager, ever for the archetypal one, two, 3 games, you tin spot the absorption from the players,” helium added. “So, astir apt it volition beryllium [tougher]. But successful immoderate lawsuit it volition beryllium a pugnacious game.”

Chelsea person not won a Premier League crippled astatine Old Trafford successful much than a decade, since a 1-0 triumph successful May 2013, erstwhile Sir Alex Ferguson was inactive successful complaint of the location side.

However, United’s location signifier suffered severely nether Ten Hag. Last season, the nine mislaid 9 location matches crossed competitions, their worst grounds successful 50 years, and they person already mislaid doubly successful 4 league matches this term, against Liverpool and Tottenham.

Maresca, though, believes Old Trafford remains 1 of the country’s astir hard grounds to visit, adjacent if helium is backing his Chelsea squad to travel done the test.

"For sure, Old Trafford is 1 of the stadiums successful the satellite that is ‘nice’ successful presumption of intimidation,” helium said. “Like Anfield, it’s the same. Or successful Italy, the San Siro years ago, oregon successful Spain, Barcelona and Madrid. They are stadiums that are bully for intimidating. 

“But I deliberation also, we played a fewer weeks agone astatine Anfield and the show was determination and I don’t deliberation the players consciousness that benignant of intimidation truthful hopefully it tin beryllium the aforesaid connected Sunday.”