Chelsea Coach Enzo Maresca described preparations for Saturday’s victory over Everton as “the worst 48 hours” since his arrival at the club.
The Italian delivered a cryptic message in his post-match press conference despite the 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.
The three points, which took Chelsea back into the Premier League’s top four, could have improved the mood after defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League extended Chelsea’s winless streak to four games.
However, when asked about Gusto’s attendance and overall performance, Maresca surprisingly revealed his frustration over the previous two days at the club.
“The way the players want to learn has been fantastic and this is the reason why I praise them, because with so many problems, they are doing very well after a difficult week,” he said.
“Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because many people did not support us.”
Pressed on what he wanted to say, the former Leicester City manager added: “Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn’t support me or the team.”
When asked if he was referring to Chelsea’s internal people, he replied: “In general. In general”, before clarifying when asked if he was directed at the fans or the media: “I love the fans and we are very happy with them.”
Maresca also highlighted Chelsea’s injury and suspension problems, noting that they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as losing key midfielder Moisés Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to two major injuries.
“I really praise the players and the team because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moisés Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap,” he said.
“And this team, no matter who plays, is doing fantastic. Today was five games in 12 days, so when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he is our best player, but we played almost the entire season without our best player.
“We played five games in the Premier League without Moisés Caicedo. This is the reason why I am so happy for the players and it is something that I would like people outside to appreciate because the effort of the players is fantastic.”
Chelsea’s victory over Everton cemented their position in fourth place in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final in Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle next week.
