Chelsea's Manager Maresca Calls Lead-Up Time as The 'Most Difficult Two Days' with the Blues

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca remarked that the preparation to Saturday's win against Everton constituted "the worst 48 hours" of his tenure at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian delivered a rather mysterious statement in his post-match press conference despite notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points propelled Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, perhaps lightening the mood after a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's winless run to four matches.

But, when questioned about Gusto's assist and overall display, Maresca surprisingly divulged his displeasure over the preceding 48-hour period at the club.

"How the players are eager to improve has been excellent and this is the reason why I applaud them - because with so many challenges, they are doing very well after a tricky week," he said.

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

Pressed on what he meant, the former Leicester City boss elaborated: "Most difficult 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 answered: "In general. In general," before clarifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the media: "I love the fans and we are extremely happy with the fans."

Injury & Disciplinary Woes

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's persistent injury and disciplinary issues, noting they had been missing key forward Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as being deprived of linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.

"I really commend the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them minus Moises Caicedo, 11 of them minus Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them minus Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, regardless of who is playing, they are performing brilliantly. Today was 5 games in 12 days so undoubtedly when you see Cole Palmer available, we said many times that he's our best 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 reason why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would like people outside to acknowledge because the effort from the players is fantastic."

Chelsea's success over Everton strengthened their position in fourth in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup last-eight clash at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle scheduled in the coming days.

Speculation Over Maresca's Remark

It was not immediately clear what exactly prompted Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the most difficult of his spell as Chelsea head coach.

In that window, the Italian had returned with his staff and players from Bergamo, held a session at Cobham, attended a pre-game news conference where he seemed relaxed, and engineered a victory over an high-flying Everton team.

It was not obvious whether any particular press stories had irked him, if online discourse were a factor, or if it was something more significant from inside 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 warm to him since his appointment from Leicester in July 2024.