The Manager Maresca Calls Lead-Up Time as His 'Most Difficult Two Days' with the Club

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca remarked that the run-up to the weekend's win against Everton constituted "the toughest 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.

The 44-year-old delivered a rather mysterious message in his post-match interview even after securing a 2-0 win at home thanks to finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those three precious points lifted Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, perhaps improving the mood following a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's drought without a win to four fixtures.

But, when asked about the full-back's contribution and overall display, Maresca unexpectedly shared his frustration over the preceding two days at the club.

"How the squad are eager to develop has been excellent and this is the reason why I praise them - because with so many issues, they are performing admirably after a tricky week," he said.

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

When pushed further on the specifics, the ex- Leicester City manager elaborated: "Worst 48 hours since I came to the club because people failed to back me and the team."

When questioned if he was referring to people internally at Chelsea, he answered: "Broadly speaking. In general," before specifying when asked if it was aimed at fans or the media: "I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans."

Injury & Suspension Crisis

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's persistent injury and suspension issues, remarking they had been missing key forward 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 truly applaud the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them minus Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them minus Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are performing fantastic. Today was five 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 without our top player.

"We play five games in the Premier League minus 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 commitment from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's triumph over Everton consolidated their position in 4th place in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle scheduled next week.

Speculation Over Maresca's Remark

It was not immediately clear what exactly prompted Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his spell as Chelsea manager.

In that timeframe, the Italian had returned with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, held a training session at the training ground, faced a pre-game press briefing where he seemed relaxed, and engineered a win over an in-form Everton side.

It was unclear whether any specific press stories had irked him, if social media discourse were a factor, or if it was something more significant from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an matter related to the club's fans, a section of which have still have yet to fully embrace him since his arrival from Leicester during July 2024.