Chelsea's Boss Enzo Maresca Calls Lead-Up Time as His 'Toughest 48 Hours' with the Blues

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca revealed that the preparation to the weekend's victory against Everton represented "the worst 48 hours" since his arrival with the London club.

The Italian delivered a puzzling statement in his post-match media briefing even after securing a 2-0 win at home thanks to strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points propelled Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, perhaps improving the mood after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the side's winless run to four fixtures.

However, when questioned about Gusto's contribution and general performance, Maresca unexpectedly divulged his annoyance over the preceding two days within the organization.

"How the lads are eager to improve has been superb and this is the explanation why I praise them - because with so many problems, they are performing admirably after a difficult week," he stated.

"Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the toughest because many people withheld support from us."

When pushed further on what he meant, the ex- Leicester City manager added: "Most difficult 48 hours since I joined the club because people failed to back me and the team."

When asked if he meant people internally at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. Overall," before specifying when asked if it was aimed at fans or the media: "I adore the fans and we are extremely content with the fans."

Injury & Suspension Crisis

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's ongoing injury and disciplinary issues, noting they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as being deprived of linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and forward Liam Delap to two serious injuries.

"I truly praise the players and the squad because we have 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 performing exceptionally. Today was 5 games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he's our top 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 pleased for the players and it's something that I would like people externally to acknowledge because the commitment from the players is fantastic."

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

Uncertainty Over Maresca's Comments

It was not immediately clear who or what prompted Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his time as Chelsea head coach.

In that period, the Italian had traveled back with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, held a training session at the training ground, faced a pre-match press briefing where he seemed relaxed, and secured a victory over an in-form 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 hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca only sought to rule out that it was an matter related to the club's fans, some of whom have still have yet to fully warm to him since his appointment from Leicester during July 2024.