Chelsea's Boss Enzo Maresca Describes Lead-Up Period as The 'Most Difficult 48 Hours' at the Club

Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca revealed that the preparation to Saturday's triumph against Everton constituted "the toughest 48 hours" since his arrival with the London club.

The Italian made a puzzling statement in his after-game interview even after earning a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge through 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 defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the side's winless run to consecutive matches.

However, when questioned about the full-back's contribution and overall display, Maresca surprisingly divulged his annoyance over the preceding two days within the club.

"The way the squad are eager to improve has been excellent and this is the reason why I praise them - because with numerous challenges, they are doing very well after a difficult week," he commented.

"Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the most difficult because several people failed to back us."

Pressed on the specifics, the ex- Leicester City boss continued: "Worst 48 hours since I came to the club because people failed to back me and the team."

When questioned if he meant people internally at Chelsea, he replied: "Broadly speaking. In general," before clarifying when asked if it was directed towards supporters or the media: "I love the fans and we are very pleased with the fans."

Fitness and Disciplinary Woes

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's persistent injury and suspension problems, noting they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the season, as well as losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and striker Liam Delap to two significant injuries.

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

"And this squad, regardless of who is on the pitch, they are doing brilliantly. Today was five games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer playing, we have said many times that he's our finest player but we play the vast majority of the season minus our best player.

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

Chelsea's success over Everton cemented their position in fourth 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 Comments

It was not immediately clear who or what caused Maresca to describe the previous 48 hours as the worst of his spell as Chelsea head coach.

In that period, the coach had traveled back with his staff and players from Bergamo, held a session at Cobham, attended a pre-game news conference where he appeared at ease, and engineered a victory over an in-form Everton team.

It was not obvious whether any particular press stories had irked him, if social media comments played a role, or if it was something deeper from inside the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an issue related to the club's supporters, some of whom have not yet fully warm to him since his arrival from Leicester during July 2024.