Chelsea's Manager Enzo Maresca Calls Lead-Up Period as His 'Worst Two Days' with the Club
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca remarked that the build-up to Saturday's victory against Everton was "the worst 48 hours" of his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
The 44-year-old delivered a rather mysterious message in his post-match interview even after notching a 2-0 win at home thanks to finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.
Those three precious points sent Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, perhaps improving the mood after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's drought without a win to four outings.
But, when questioned about the full-back's contribution and overall display, Maresca surprisingly divulged his frustration over the preceding two days within the club.
"The way the players are eager to develop has been fantastic and this is the explanation why I applaud them - because with a host of challenges, they are performing admirably after a complicated week," he stated.
"From the moment I arrived at the club, the last 48 hours have been the toughest because a lot of people withheld support from us."
Pressed on the specifics, the former Leicester City manager continued: "Most difficult 48 hours since I came to the club because people failed to back me and the team."
When questioned if he meant people internally at Chelsea, he responded: "In general. Overall," before specifying when asked if it was aimed at fans or the press: "I adore the fans and we are extremely happy with the fans."
Injury and Disciplinary Crisis
Maresca also pointed to Chelsea's ongoing injury and suspension problems, remarking they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the campaign, as well as being deprived of key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.
"I really commend the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them minus Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap," he explained.
"And this squad, regardless of who is playing, they are doing fantastic. Today was five games in 12 days so undoubtedly when you see Cole Palmer playing, we said many times that he's our finest player but we play the vast majority of the season minus our top player.
"We play five 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 want people externally to recognize because the work from the players is remarkable."
Chelsea's triumph over Everton cemented their standing in 4th place in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come in the coming days.
Speculation Over Maresca's Comments
It was not immediately clear who or what prompted Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the most difficult of his time as Chelsea head coach.
In that timeframe, the Italian had returned with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, conducted a training session at Cobham, faced a pre-game news conference where he seemed at ease, and engineered a win over an in-form Everton side.
It was not obvious whether any specific press stories had unsettled him, if social media comments were a factor, or if it was something more significant from within the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca only sought to rule out that it was an matter related to the club's fans, some of whom have still have yet to fully warm to him since his arrival from Leicester in July last year.
