The first week in March did not have the look of a particularly testing one for Enzo Maresca when Chelsea were on the charge in mid-December.
The first leg of a Conference League last-16 tie against opponents unknown seemed unlikely to bear many demons for a side on their way to routing the league phase with a perfect six wins from six. Nor did a home meeting with Maresca’s former club Leicester, given Chelsea had just beaten the strugglers away from home to start a run of five straight wins in the Premier League.
