Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea team take on Aston Villa this weekend knowing that a win will put them into second place if Man City fail to beat Liverpool.
Those are some lofty heights given it’s already almost December. But the manager wasn’t having any talk of a title race. When asked in his presser today if his team were in it to win it, Maresca didn’t give the question a moment’s thought. He maintained his existing line that his team are doing really well, but are far off the top sides who are the ones really competing for the Premier League trophy:
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Filip Jorgensen gets congratulations from Enzo Maresca. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Enzo Maresca remonstrates with a ref during a Conference League game. (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Enzo Maresca in his press conference after Chelsea win over Panathinaikos.
“No. I’ve said it many times. I would really like the pressure [of being in the race], and I’d really like to say ‘yes, we are there’, but we are not there. I’d say Arsenal are ahead of us, City are ahead of us. Liverpool are showing they’re ahead of us. But the important thing is that we improve game after game, and then we will see.
Enzo Maresca applauds the home fans. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca applauds the home fans. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Maresca continues to play it cool despite the numbers
He was then pushed on how he could say his team weren’t in the race given they can either jump to second place, or move to within 6 points of Liverpool, depending on results:
“Look, City lost 3 games in a row but they’re still second. Arsenal are there, Liverpool as we said are doing fantastic. And the reason why is not about the points, about the table, where they’re ahead. It’s about the process, the programme: 5 years together, 9 years together – Liverpool is a bit different… This is the reason. It’s not about the points or the difference in the table.”
It’s fair enough – he knows that the chances are his freshly assembled side will soon hit a rough patch and that City and Arsenal are likely to use their experience and go up a gear. But if we’re still just a few wins off the top after Christmas – he might have to start admitting we’ve got a chance.