Chelsea's Boss Maresca Labels Pre-Match Period as His 'Worst 48 Hours' with the Blues

Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca revealed that the preparation to Saturday's victory against Everton was "the worst 48 hours" of his tenure at Stamford Bridge.

The 44-year-old made a somewhat cryptic comment in his post-match interview despite notching a 2-0 win at home courtesy of goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those crucial points propelled Chelsea once again into the Premier League's top four, perhaps lightening the mood after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the side's drought without a win to consecutive matches.

But, when questioned about the full-back's assist and general performance, Maresca unexpectedly divulged his annoyance over the previous 48-hour period within the organization.

"The way the players want to improve has been excellent and this is the explanation why I applaud them - because with so many problems, they are doing very well after a complicated week," he commented.

"Since I joined the club, the previous 48 hours have been the worst because a lot of people failed to back us."

When pushed further on his meaning, the former Leicester City manager continued: "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 replied: "Broadly speaking. Overall," before clarifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the media: "I adore the fans and we are very happy with the fans."

Fitness & Disciplinary Crisis

Maresca also pointed to Chelsea's ongoing injury and disciplinary problems, remarking they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the campaign, in addition to losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and forward Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.

"I truly commend the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them without Moises Caicedo, eleven of them minus Cole Palmer, almost all of them minus Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are doing brilliantly. Today was five games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer playing, we said many times that he's our finest player but we play almost all season minus our top 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 like people externally to recognize because the work from the players is fantastic."

Chelsea's win over Everton cemented their standing in 4th place in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come in the coming days.

Speculation Over Maresca's Remark

It was ambiguous what exactly caused Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the worst of his tenure as Chelsea head coach.

In that timeframe, the Italian had returned with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, held a training session at Cobham, faced a pre-match press briefing where he seemed at ease, and secured a victory over an in-form Everton side.

It was not obvious whether any particular press stories had unsettled him, if online discourse were a factor, or if it was something deeper from inside the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca only sought to rule out that it was an issue involving the club's supporters, a section of which have still have yet to fully embrace him since his arrival from Leicester in July 2024.