The Boss Enzo Maresca Calls Pre-Match Period as His 'Most Difficult Two Days' with the Club

Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca revealed that the run-up to the weekend's win against Everton represented "the worst 48 hours" since his arrival with the London club.

The Italian offered a rather mysterious message in his after-game media briefing despite earning a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge courtesy of goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those three precious points propelled Chelsea back into the Premier League's top four, perhaps improving the mood following a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's winless run to consecutive fixtures.

Yet, when asked about Gusto's assist and general display, Maresca unexpectedly divulged his displeasure over the preceding two days at the organization.

"How the squad want to improve has been excellent and this is the explanation why I applaud them - because with a host of issues, they are doing very well after a tricky week," he stated.

"Since I joined the club, the past 48 hours have been the toughest because many people failed to back us."

When pushed further on the specifics, the former Leicester City manager added: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people failed to back me and the team."

When questioned if he was referring to people within at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. In general," before specifying when asked if it was aimed at supporters or the press: "I adore the fans and we are very pleased with the fans."

Injury & Disciplinary Woes

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's ongoing injury and disciplinary issues, noting they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the season, in addition to losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and forward Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.

"I really applaud the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them minus Moises Caicedo, eleven of them minus 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 there, we said many times that he's our top player but we play almost all season minus our best player.

"We play 5 games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so delighted for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to recognize because the effort from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's win over Everton consolidated their standing in fourth in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come in the coming days.

Speculation Regarding Maresca's Comments

It was unclear what exactly caused Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the most difficult of his tenure as Chelsea manager.

In that period, the coach had traveled back with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, conducted a session at Cobham, attended a pre-game press briefing where he appeared at ease, and engineered a win over an high-flying Everton team.

It was hard to discern whether any specific press stories had irked him, if online comments played a role, or if it was something more significant from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to deny that it was an issue involving the club's fans, some of whom have still have yet to fully embrace him since his appointment from Leicester in July 2024.