Chelsea's Boss Enzo Maresca Calls Pre-Match Period as His 'Toughest Two Days' at the Club
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca revealed that the run-up to the weekend's victory against Everton constituted "the most challenging 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.
The Italian delivered a somewhat cryptic message in his after-game media briefing even after earning a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge through strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.
Those points propelled Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, perhaps lightening the mood after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's drought without a win to four fixtures.
But, when asked about Gusto's contribution and overall performance, Maresca surprisingly shared his annoyance over the preceding 48-hour period at the organization.
"How the players want to develop has been excellent and this is the reason why I praise them - because with numerous challenges, they are performing admirably after a tricky week," he stated.
"Since I joined the club, the past 48 hours have been the toughest because a lot of people failed to back us."
When pushed further on what he meant, the ex- Leicester City boss added: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."
When questioned if he meant people within at Chelsea, he replied: "Broadly speaking. Overall," before specifying when queried if it was aimed at supporters or the press: "I love the fans and we are very content with the fans."
Fitness and Disciplinary Woes
Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's persistent injury and disciplinary problems, remarking they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as losing linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.
"I truly commend the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap," he said.
"And this squad, regardless of who is on the pitch, they are performing fantastic. Today was five games in 12 days so undoubtedly when you see Cole Palmer playing, we said many times that he's our top player but we play the vast majority of the season minus our best player.
"We play 5 games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so happy for the players and it's something that I would like people outside to appreciate because the work from the players is outstanding."
Chelsea's triumph over Everton consolidated their position in fourth in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle to come in the coming days.
Uncertainty Regarding Maresca's Remark
It was not immediately clear what exactly prompted Maresca to describe the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his tenure as Chelsea head coach.
In that period, the Italian had traveled back with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, held a session at the training ground, faced a pre-game press briefing where he seemed relaxed, and secured a win over an in-form Everton side.
It was unclear whether any specific media reports had unsettled him, if social media discourse played a role, or if it was something deeper from within the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca specifically took care to deny that it was an issue involving the club's supporters, some of whom have not yet fully embrace him since his appointment from Leicester in July last year.
