Chelsea's Manager Maresca Labels Pre-Match Time as The 'Worst 48 Hours' at the Blues
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca remarked that the preparation to Saturday's win against Everton represented "the toughest 48 hours" since his arrival with the London club.
The 44-year-old delivered a puzzling message in his after-game press conference even after notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge courtesy of goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.
Those points propelled Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, potentially improving the atmosphere after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's winless run to four fixtures.
But, when asked about the full-back's assist and overall performance, Maresca surprisingly disclosed his displeasure over the previous two days within the club.
"How the lads want to learn has been fantastic and this is the explanation why I applaud them - because with numerous issues, they are doing very well after a difficult week," he stated.
"Since I joined the club, the past 48 hours have been the toughest because several people failed to back us."
When pushed further on his meaning, the former Leicester City boss added: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people failed to back me and the team."
When asked if he was referring to people within at Chelsea, he answered: "Broadly speaking. In general," before clarifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are extremely pleased with the fans."
Fitness & Disciplinary Woes
Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's persistent fitness and disciplinary problems, noting they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and forward Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.
"I really praise the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, eleven of them minus Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them without Liam Delap," he explained.
"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 almost all season without our top player.
"We play five games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so delighted for the players and it's something that I would like people externally to acknowledge because the work from the players is outstanding."
Chelsea's triumph over Everton strengthened their position in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup last-eight tie at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle to come in the coming days.
Speculation Over Maresca's Remark
It was ambiguous what exactly prompted Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the most difficult of his tenure as Chelsea head coach.
In that window, the Italian had traveled back with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, held a session at Cobham, faced a pre-game press briefing where he appeared at ease, and secured a win over an in-form Everton side.
It was hard to discern whether any particular media reports had unsettled him, if social media comments played a role, or if it was something deeper from inside the club at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an issue involving the club's supporters, a section of which have still have yet to fully warm to him since his appointment from Leicester in July last year.