Chelsea fans turn on Enzo Maresca after Bournemouth draw

There were more loud boos and even chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” aimed at Maresca after Palmer was taken off with little more than an hour played. Palmer walked around the pitch and there was the briefest of handshakes – more a slight touch of hands – with Maresca.

In truth, the England international was far from his best. But the fans spoke and he looked distinctly unhappy and while Chelsea were better in the second-half, with Estêvão Willian a growing influence with his delightful close control and dribbling, they could not make the breakthrough. It feels like Maresca is walking a tightrope at Chelsea right now.

Afterwards, the Italian was not well enough to carry out his media duties with his assistant Willy Caballero doing the talking. What of those boos? “Of course any supporter wants to have the best players on the pitch and we want to have the best players on the pitch as well but Cole is coming back from a long, long injury,” Caballero explained. “We need to find a way for the right substitutions for the game.”

And Maresca’s illness? “He did not feel well even in the last two days. He had a bit of a temperature two days ago. He prepared the team for this game but afterwards he went into the changing room and asked me to replace him,” Caballero said. Replacing him just for the press conference it must be pointed out.

No wonder Maresca felt sick. Both Bournemouth goals came from long throws launched by Semenyo with City hoping to finalise the signing of the winger who has a £65m release clause in his contract which is active from January 1-10.

This may be his last game for Bournemouth – who hope to keep him for another week – but if he does join City before the weekend his first opponent could be Chelsea who will travel to the Etihad with Moisés Caicedo suspended. The pressure is growing.

Chelsea started with a team with an average of just 23 years and 157 days, the youngest in the Premier League this season, but Maresca was forced to rip that up with a series of substitutions as they struggled.

December often feels like a cruel month for Chelsea – even going back to the first flush of José Mourinho – and they have ended it with just six points from a possible 18.

January does not look any easier with another nine games across four competitions. “It is our target to improve,” Caballero said. It is not just a target but a necessity.

And the goals? Chelsea need to get back on the training ground and work on their defending. For the first, Alejandro Garnacho, who had a shocking game and was hooked at half-time, watched as a flick-on reached David Brooks. Robert Sánchez repelled his header but the Bournemouth captain bundled home the rebound.