Chelsea's Boss Maresca Calls Lead-Up Period as The 'Worst 48 Hours' at the Club
Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca revealed that the run-up to Saturday's triumph against Everton was "the toughest 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.
The 44-year-old delivered a rather mysterious comment in his post-match media briefing despite securing a 2-0 win at home through goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.
Those three precious points sent Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, potentially lightening the atmosphere after a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's winless run to four fixtures.
Yet, when asked about Gusto's contribution and overall display, Maresca unexpectedly divulged his displeasure over the previous 48-hour period within the organization.
"The way the players want to improve has been superb and this is the explanation why I applaud them - because with numerous challenges, they are performing admirably after a tricky week," he said.
"Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because several people withheld support from us."
When pushed further on the specifics, the ex- Leicester City boss elaborated: "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 within at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. Overall," before clarifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans."
Injury & Disciplinary Crisis
Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's ongoing injury and suspension problems, noting they had been without key forward Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.
"I really praise the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them minus Moises Caicedo, 11 of them minus Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap," he said.
"And this squad, no matter who is on the pitch, they are doing exceptionally. 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 without our top player.
"We play five games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to acknowledge because the commitment from the players is outstanding."
Chelsea's success over Everton strengthened their position in fourth in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come next week.
Speculation Regarding Maresca's Comments
It was unclear who or what caused Maresca to describe the previous 48 hours as the worst of his tenure as Chelsea head coach.
In that window, the Italian had traveled back with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, conducted a session at Cobham, attended a pre-match news conference where he seemed at ease, and engineered a victory over an high-flying Everton side.
It was hard to discern whether any specific media reports had irked him, if social media comments were a factor, or if it was something deeper from within the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca specifically took care to deny that it was an issue related to the club's fans, some of whom have still have yet to fully embrace him since his arrival from Leicester during July 2024.