Chelsea get the Y-Ips: Ghost of Christmas Past haunts Blues as Enzo Maresca suffers successive defeats for first time

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CHELSEA suffered successive defeats for the first time under Enzo Maresca as a ghost of Christmas past came back to haunt them at Portman Road on Monday night. 

The Blues were aiming to go back into second place in the Premier League table but suffered an early blow when Liam Delap gave Ipswich Town the lead from the penalty spot after a VAR ruling that he had been fouled by goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen. 

Chelsea had three-quarters of the possession and 20 shots on goal – though only five on target – but went 2-0 down when their former winger Omari Hutchinson was set up by Delap in the 53rd minute. Hutchinson helped Kieran McKenna’s side to promotion from the Championship on loan last season before making a permanent £19million transfer from Stamford Bridge in the summer. 

“It was a bit of a strange game,” Maresca said. “We created so many chances in the first half and in the first five or ten minutes of the second half. We had two clear chances, the header from Joao [Felix] and another shot.

“Then I think the second goal killed the game a little bit. Sometimes when you create so many chances, the post, the VAR, the keeper saves or the defenders that block the shot, sometimes it has to go in that way.

“It’s a shame because it was another chance for us but congratulations to them because probably when you save so many shots on the line, the goalkeeper, the body, the desire from them was very high.” 

On the penalty, Maresca said: “They said it’s a bit soft but we have to accept it’s a penalty.

“We made four changes from the last game because they all deserve to play. Now we’ve finished the first part of the season, no one expected us to be where we are. We are in a good position but we can do many things better. It’s a long race.

“We focus game by game. We are not focused on title race or those things.”

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