John Terry explains why Chelsea have suffered a 'drop off' under Enzo Maresca

The Blues massively impressed during the first half of the 2024-25 campaign, with some tipping them as Premier League title challengers.

Since then, though, Chelsea’s fortunes have turned, with the west Londoners now firmly in a battle to finish in the top four under Maresca.

Terry believes the reason for Chelsea’s ‘drop off’ is due to their young squad and lack of experience, with the average age of their starting XI in the Premier League (23.5) lower than any other side in the top-flight.

Speaking to DR Sports, Terry said: ‘Champions League, still a possibility? Who knows.

‘We’ve showed signs this year of being a really young squad I think. And I say that in terms of performances where you see a really good spell, then we’ve come off of it lately.

‘It was always going to be one of those seasons for me, even when we started well I thought we’d have a little bit of a drop off and we have done that.

‘Listen, Champions League has to be the minimum every year for me. When you’re playing at a top club like Chelsea the mentality has to be Champions League football year after year.’

Chelsea players held a behind-the-scenes meeting with ‘frank word exchanged’ after the 3-0 Premier League defeat to Brighton last month.

It is believed senior members of the squad set up the meeting at Cobham Training Centre two days after the humbling result on February 14.

The loss at the Amex marked Chelsea’s fourth in nine top-flight games, with some Blues stars left concerned over their hopes of a top-four finish.

Following the defeat, Chelsea lost again in narrow fashion at Aston Villa before returning to winning ways with a 4-0 victory over Southampton.

Chelsea head coach Maresca branded the 3-0 defeat at Brighton last month as ‘the worst performance’ of his tenure to date.

‘Probably since I arrived that is the worst performance, especially in the moment we are in,’ the Italian said.

‘We [were] fourth in the league and winning [against Brighton], you can go one point from third and make the gap to the rest bigger.

‘The performance is not one you want to offer so we are very upset and sorry for the fans that were here.’

Chelsea are currently fifth in the Premier League table with 11 fixtures remaining as they look to secure Champions League qualification.