Chelsea's Boss Maresca Labels Pre-Match Time as His 'Toughest 48 Hours' at the Blues

Chelsea tactician Enzo Maresca remarked that the preparation to Saturday's triumph against Everton was "the toughest 48 hours" he has experienced with the London club.

The 44-year-old offered a somewhat cryptic message in his post-match interview despite notching a 2-0 win at home thanks to finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those three precious points propelled Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, perhaps improving the atmosphere after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's drought without a win to four outings.

Yet, when asked about the full-back's contribution and overall performance, Maresca surprisingly divulged his frustration over the preceding 48-hour period within the organization.

"How the squad want to improve has been fantastic and this is the reason why I praise them - because with a host of challenges, they are excelling after a tricky week," he commented.

"Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because many people didn't support us."

When pushed further on his meaning, the former Leicester City boss added: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."

When questioned if he was referring to people internally at Chelsea, he answered: "In general. Overall," before clarifying when asked if it was directed towards supporters or the press: "I adore the fans and we are very content with the fans."

Fitness & Suspension Crisis

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's ongoing fitness and suspension problems, remarking they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the campaign, as well as being deprived of key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to two significant injuries.

"I really praise 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 said.

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

"We play five games in the Premier League minus 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 acknowledge because the commitment from the players is fantastic."

Chelsea's triumph over Everton cemented their standing in fourth in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come in the coming days.

Speculation Over Maresca's Comments

It was unclear who or what caused Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the worst of his time as Chelsea manager.

In that window, the Italian had traveled back with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, conducted a session at the training ground, attended a pre-game press briefing where he seemed at ease, and secured a win over an high-flying Everton side.

It was hard to discern whether any particular media reports had unsettled him, if social media discourse played a role, or if it was something deeper from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an issue involving the club's supporters, a section of which have still have yet to fully warm to him since his arrival from Leicester in July 2024.