Chelsea shows indications of promise, but Enzo Maresca’s start is overshadowed by off-field turbulence.

Manchester City began their pursuit of a fifth consecutive League title with a polished 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.

In many ways, Chelsea remained the same as before, as Enzo Maresca’s first game in charge was overshadowed by happenings off the pitch.

Within minutes of Chelsea releasing Maresca’s first XI as head coach, Raheem Sterling’s camp issued a statement requesting “clarity” on the forward’s future at the club after being left out of the match-day squad against his previous side.

Maresca justified Sterling’s absence as “a technical decision” prior to kickoff, but he was sure to face questions about the winger’s role in his new-look project following.

Sterling, for his part, is likely to suspect that this is more than just one game, but rather a concerted effort to force him out of Stamford Bridge, along with academy graduates Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah, among others, as part of Maresca’s attempts to trim a vastly bloated squad before the end of the month.

Chelsea fans chanted for Gallagher in the first half, immediately after Haaland bundled through Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella to put City ahead, adding to the impression that while Chelsea’s team is in change, their football will rarely be the focus.

Perhaps Sterling’s camp dealt with his omission privately, but the 29-year-old would be justified in taking control of the narrative after seeing how the club has treated Gallagher and Chalobah, who are both training away from the first team.

For Chelsea’s owners, these are the repercussions of such a wild and unconventional approach to squad development, and the uncertainty surrounding Gallagher, Sterling, and others is likely to hang over Maresca until their fates are decided.

Which should rightfully frustrate Mauricio Pochettino’s replacement, especially as Chelsea provided some reasons for hope here, despite the final score, which was sealed by a former Blues player in Mateo Kovacic.

Chelsea were fair value for a win over the champions for the whole of the game, with Nicolas Jackson having an equaliser called out for a tight offside and volleying straight at Ederson from point blank range.

Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez also produced a great save to deny Jeremy Doku, but the true difference between the teams came at centre-forward.

Haaland took use of his huge opportunity, receiving Bernard’s clever touch and driving into the box for a lovely goal, but Jackson was wasteful although lively.

Chelsea also had three penalty appeals turned down in the first half, two for clumsy fouls on Enzo Fernandez, who captained the team despite having to apologise to his teammates for racist and homophobic shouting against Argentina in the summer.

Chelsea held the ball confidently and occasionally threatened to break through City’s high line, but Maresca will be disappointed with how his team conceded twice, particularly the second goal.

Chelsea struggled to play out from the back in pre-season, and Wesley Fofana’s weak kick was set up by Kovacic, who dribbled far too easily past Moises Caicedo to finish from the edge of the box.

With Sterling, a real winger, gone, Maresca opened with two No.10s flanking Jackson: Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku, albeit the latter proved unsuccessful from the left.

Summer signings Pedro Neto, a £51 million signing from Wolves, made his debut in the second half and almost got on the end of Enzo’s low cross within seconds; expect the Portuguese to settle into the left-wing position soon, giving Maresca’s side greater balance.

Renato Veiga, Kieran Dewsbury-Hall, and Marc Guiu, who were all new arrivals, made their competitive debuts in the second half.

On the one hand, this is another Chelsea side consisting of new players, and they may be expected to mature over the season, like they did last season.