Chelsea's Boss Enzo Maresca Calls Pre-Match Period as His 'Most Difficult Two Days' with the Blues

Chelsea tactician Enzo Maresca remarked that the preparation to Saturday's victory against Everton constituted "the toughest 48 hours" he has experienced at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian delivered a rather mysterious statement in his after-game interview despite 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 Premier League's top four, potentially improving the atmosphere following a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's winless run to four matches.

But, when asked about Gusto's assist and overall performance, Maresca unexpectedly shared his displeasure over the preceding two days within the club.

"How the players want to improve has been superb and this is the reason why I applaud them - because with numerous problems, they are performing admirably after a difficult week," he said.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the past 48 hours have been the most difficult because a lot of people failed to back us."

When pushed further on what he meant, the former Leicester City manager continued: "Most difficult 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."

When asked if he was referring to people within at Chelsea, he responded: "In general. In general," before clarifying when queried if it was directed towards supporters or the media: "I adore the fans and we are very happy with the fans."

Injury & Suspension Woes

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

"I really praise the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, five of them minus Moises Caicedo, 11 of them minus Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them without Liam Delap," he said.

"And this squad, regardless of who is on the pitch, they are doing brilliantly. Today was 5 games in 12 days so undoubtedly when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he's our top player but we play almost all season minus our best player.

"We play five games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would want people externally to recognize because the commitment from the players is fantastic."

Chelsea's success over Everton consolidated their standing in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle to come next week.

Uncertainty Over Maresca's Comments

It was unclear what exactly caused Maresca to label the past 48 hours as the most difficult of his tenure as Chelsea head coach.

In that timeframe, the coach had returned with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, conducted a session at Cobham, faced a pre-match news conference where he appeared at ease, and engineered a victory over an high-flying Everton team.

It was hard to discern whether any particular press stories 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 involving the club's fans, a section of which have still have yet to fully embrace him since his arrival from Leicester in July last year.