Chelsea climbed to fourth place in the Premier League as Enzo Fernandez sealed a 1-0 win that piled pressure on beleaguered Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou on Thursday.
Merino scored in the 20th minute when he stooped to flick his looping header over Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal after a Martin Odegaard corner.
Chelsea returned to the top four of the Premier League on Sunday but made heavy weather of their 1-0 victory over struggling Leicester City, squeezing through with a 60th-minute goal from Spain defender Marc Cucurella.
Maresca's side got back on track after three successive defeats with a dominant display at Stamford Bridge.
A lacklustre Chelsea side trailed to Jarrod Bowen's strike three minutes before halftime but improved after the break with substitute Pedro Neto equalising before Aaron Wan-Bissaka's own goal sent the hosts into fourth place.
Manchester City's new signings Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov will be in the squad for Saturday's league game against Chelsea, boss Pep Guardiola said ahead of the battle between two teams chasing a Champions League spot.
Enzo Maresca's team were just two points behind leaders Liverpool in mid-December, raising hopes of an unlikely title challenge before losing their way.
Ipswich Town put a dent in Chelsea's Premier League title hopes with a 2-0 win at Portman Road on Monday, but the west London side's head coach Enzo Maresca said no one expected his young team to be in their current position this season.
Chelsea's second successive defeat after their Boxing Day loss against Fulham left them without a win in their last three matches.
Chelsea, who won 1-0 at Bournemouth last Saturday, moved into second place in the Premier League table ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures. West Ham, under new coach Julen Lopetegui, are 14th.
New United States national team coach Mauricio Pochettino says his squad need to set themselves the highest goal possible -- to win the World Cup.
Chelsea's Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson signed a two-year contract extension on Friday that will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2033.
No sooner had another turbulent transfer window for Chelsea shut than reports emerged of a power struggle between chairman Todd Boehly and majority shareholder Behdad Eghbali.
Enzo Maresca's Chelsea have won only once in the first three league games of the Italian's reign after a chaotic close-season.
The futures of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and England international Ivan Toney are set to dominate the final day of the European transfer window on Friday as Chelsea continue their frenzied pursuit of new signings.
Napoli have signed Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea, the Serie A club announced on Thursday, ending the Belgium striker's extended period in limbo with the Blues.
Kepa Arrizabalaga kicked off an expected exodus of out-of-favour Chelsea players in the final 48 hours of the transfer window by joining Bournemouth on a season-long loan on Thursday.
Chelsea's main aim in the transfer window is to offload players from their squad so the club can balance its books, manager Enzo Maresca said on Tuesday.
Chelsea-bound teenager Estevao Willian received his first Brazil call-up on Friday as the 17-year-old was named in the squad for next month's 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay.
