The Boss Enzo Maresca Describes Pre-Match Period as The 'Worst Two Days' at the Blues
Chelsea tactician Enzo Maresca revealed that the run-up to the weekend's triumph against Everton represented "the toughest 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.
The 44-year-old offered a puzzling message in his after-game media briefing even after notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.
Those three precious points lifted Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, potentially lightening the atmosphere after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's drought without a win to four matches.
But, when questioned about the full-back's contribution and general performance, Maresca surprisingly disclosed his displeasure over the previous two days at the club.
"The way the squad are eager to improve has been excellent and this is the reason why I applaud them - because with numerous issues, they are doing very well after a complicated week," he said.
"Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the most difficult because many people failed to back us."
When pushed further on what he meant, the former Leicester City boss continued: "Most difficult 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."
When asked if he meant people internally at Chelsea, he responded: "In general. Overall," before specifying when asked if it was directed towards supporters or the press: "I adore the fans and we are very happy with the fans."
Injury and Disciplinary Woes
Maresca also pointed to Chelsea's persistent injury and suspension issues, noting they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the campaign, as well as being deprived of linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and striker Liam Delap to two serious injuries.
"I really applaud the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, eleven of them without Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them without Liam Delap," he said.
"And this squad, no matter who is on the pitch, they are performing exceptionally. Today was 5 games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer available, we have said many times that he's our best player but we play the vast majority of the season minus our top player.
"We play 5 games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so delighted for the players and it's something that I would like people externally to appreciate because the commitment from the players is fantastic."
Chelsea's triumph over Everton strengthened their standing in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come in the coming days.
Speculation Regarding Maresca's Comments
It was unclear who or what caused Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the worst of his spell as Chelsea manager.
In that period, the coach had returned with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, held a session at Cobham, faced a pre-match press briefing where he seemed relaxed, and engineered a victory over an high-flying Everton side.
It was hard to discern whether any particular media reports had irked him, if online discourse played a role, or if it was something deeper from within the club at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca specifically took care to deny that it was an matter related to the club's fans, a section of which have not yet fully warm to him since his appointment from Leicester during July last year.
