Chelsea's Manager Maresca Labels Lead-Up Time as His 'Worst 48 Hours' at the Blues

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

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

Those three precious points lifted Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, potentially improving the atmosphere following a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the side's winless run to four outings.

Yet, when questioned about the full-back's contribution and overall display, Maresca unexpectedly shared his annoyance over the preceding two days within the organization.

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

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the previous 48 hours have been the toughest because several people withheld support from us."

When pushed further on what he meant, the former Leicester City manager added: "Worst 48 hours since I came to the club because people failed to back me and the team."

When asked if he meant people within at Chelsea, he answered: "In general. In general," before clarifying when queried if it was aimed at fans or the press: "I adore the fans and we are very content with the fans."

Fitness and Disciplinary Crisis

Maresca also pointed to Chelsea's ongoing injury and disciplinary problems, remarking they had been missing 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 forward Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.

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

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

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

Speculation Regarding Maresca's Comments

It was unclear who or what prompted Maresca to describe the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his time as Chelsea manager.

In that period, the coach had traveled back with his staff and players from his native Italy, held a training session at the training ground, attended a pre-game news conference where he appeared at ease, and engineered a win over an high-flying Everton side.

It was hard to discern whether any particular media reports 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 issue involving the club's fans, a section of which have still have yet to fully embrace him since his appointment from Leicester in July 2024.