Chelsea's Manager Enzo Maresca Labels Lead-Up Period as His 'Worst Two Days' with the Club

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca revealed that the run-up to the weekend's victory against Everton constituted "the toughest 48 hours" of his tenure at Stamford Bridge.

The 44-year-old delivered a somewhat cryptic comment in his after-game media briefing despite notching a 2-0 win at home courtesy of finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those crucial points propelled 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 extended the side's drought without a win to consecutive outings.

But, when questioned about the full-back's contribution and general performance, Maresca surprisingly shared his annoyance over the previous two days at the club.

"How the lads want to learn has been fantastic and this is the explanation why I applaud them - because with a host of issues, they are performing admirably after a complicated week," he stated.

"Since I joined the club, the previous 48 hours have been the most difficult because many people withheld support from us."

Pressed on what he meant, the ex- Leicester City boss continued: "Most difficult 48 hours since I joined the club because people failed to back me and the team."

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

Injury & Disciplinary Woes

Maresca also pointed to Chelsea's persistent injury and disciplinary issues, noting they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the season, in addition to losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to two significant injuries.

"I truly commend the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them minus Liam Delap," he said.

"And this squad, regardless of who is on the pitch, they are doing exceptionally. Today was five games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer there, we 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 explanation why I'm so happy for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to recognize because the commitment from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's triumph over Everton strengthened their position in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup last-eight clash at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle to come in the coming days.

Uncertainty Regarding Maresca's Remark

It was not immediately clear what exactly caused Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the worst of his time as Chelsea head coach.

In that period, the coach had traveled back with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, conducted a session at Cobham, faced a pre-match news conference where he appeared relaxed, and secured a win over an in-form Everton side.

It was unclear whether any specific media reports had irked him, if social media comments were a factor, or if it was something deeper from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to deny that it was an issue related to the club's fans, a section of which have still have yet to fully embrace him since his appointment from Leicester in July 2024.