The Boss Enzo Maresca Calls Pre-Match Time as His 'Worst Two Days' with the Club

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca revealed that the preparation to Saturday's victory against Everton was "the toughest 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.

The 44-year-old made a puzzling statement in his post-match media briefing even after securing a 2-0 win at home through finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those crucial points lifted Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, perhaps lightening the atmosphere following a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's drought without a win to four fixtures.

However, when questioned about Gusto's contribution and overall performance, Maresca unexpectedly disclosed his annoyance over the previous two days at the club.

"The way the players are eager to learn has been superb and this is the reason why I applaud them - because with so many problems, they are excelling after a complicated week," he commented.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the past 48 hours have been the most difficult because a lot of people didn't support us."

When pushed further on his meaning, the ex- Leicester City boss continued: "Worst 48 hours since I came to the club because people didn't support me and the team."

When asked if he meant people within at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. In general," before specifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the media: "I adore the fans and we are extremely pleased with the fans."

Injury and Suspension Crisis

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's ongoing injury and suspension problems, remarking they had been without 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 striker Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.

"I really applaud the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are doing brilliantly. Today was 5 games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer available, we said many times that he's our finest player but we play almost all season minus our top player.

"We play 5 games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so happy for the players and it's something that I would like people externally to acknowledge because the effort from the players is fantastic."

Chelsea's triumph over Everton consolidated their standing in fourth in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup last-eight clash at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come next week.

Speculation Over Maresca's Remark

It was unclear what exactly caused Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the worst of his time as Chelsea manager.

In that timeframe, the Italian had returned with his staff and players from his native Italy, conducted a training session at Cobham, faced a pre-game news conference where he seemed relaxed, and engineered a victory over an in-form Everton team.

It was hard to discern whether any particular press stories had unsettled him, if online comments were a factor, or if it was something deeper from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca only sought to rule out that it was an issue related to the club's fans, some of whom have not yet fully embrace him since his arrival from Leicester in July 2024.