Chelsea's Manager Enzo Maresca Labels Lead-Up Time as The 'Worst 48 Hours' at the Club
Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca remarked that the run-up to Saturday's victory against Everton constituted "the worst 48 hours" since his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
The Italian delivered a somewhat cryptic statement in his after-game press conference despite notching a 2-0 win at home courtesy of strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.
Those points propelled Chelsea once again into the Premier League's top four, potentially lightening the mood after a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the side's winless run to consecutive outings.
Yet, when questioned about the full-back's contribution and overall display, Maresca surprisingly disclosed his annoyance over the previous two days within the club.
"The way the squad want to improve has been fantastic and this is the reason why I praise them - because with a host of problems, they are doing very well after a tricky week," he said.
"Since I joined the club, the past 48 hours have been the worst because many people didn't support us."
When pushed further on what he meant, the former Leicester City manager continued: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."
When asked if he was referring to people internally at Chelsea, he responded: "Broadly speaking. Overall," before specifying when queried if it was aimed at fans or the media: "I adore the fans and we are very pleased with the fans."
Fitness & Suspension Crisis
Maresca also pointed to Chelsea's persistent fitness and disciplinary issues, noting they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the season, in addition to losing linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and forward Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.
"I truly applaud the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, five of them minus Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them without Liam Delap," he said.
"And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are performing brilliantly. Today was five games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer playing, we have said many times that he's our top player but we play almost all season without our best player.
"We play five 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 want people outside to recognize because the effort from the players is fantastic."
Chelsea's triumph over Everton strengthened their position in fourth in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup last-eight tie at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come next week.
Uncertainty Over Maresca's Comments
It was not immediately clear what exactly caused Maresca to label the past 48 hours as the worst of his tenure as Chelsea manager.
In that timeframe, the Italian had returned with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, held a training session at Cobham, attended a pre-match news conference where he appeared relaxed, and engineered a victory over an in-form Everton team.
It was not obvious whether any particular press stories had unsettled him, if online discourse were a factor, or if it was something more significant from within the club at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an matter related to the club's supporters, some of whom have still have yet to fully warm to him since his arrival from Leicester during July last year.
