Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca after Chelsea's win against Aston Villa
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has highlighted the need for his team to gain experience to truly contend for the Premier League title, even after a rousing 3-0 win against Aston Villa. The Stamford Bridge outfit have flourished under his management, yet he remains cautious about their chances of lifting the trophy.
This display of strength included a determined effort to prevent Villa from controlling the ball and a cohesive offensive unit producing three different goals. Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring by hammering the ball off the post – thanks to Marc Cucurella's aggressive play, while Enzo Fernandez rounded off an elegant sequence with a goal, marking his second in as many games.
A dazzling finish from Cole Palmer in the 83rd minute put a shine on Chelsea's performance, as he curled a shot into the top corner, solidifying Chelsea's position in the hunt for a top-four finish.
However, just as Unai Emery did last season when Villa shocked everyone to finish in the top four, Maresca was keen to play things down.
"We are not ready to compete with Liverpool, Arsenal and (Manchester) City, for many reasons," Maresca said. "Just because we won today I’m not going to change my idea. We’re not ready for that. But the good thing is we are improving and hopefully very soon we can be there.
"We need to improve many things, we can attack better, defend better. You have to live moments to get better. This kind of players, some of them in their experience have played only one final, the Carabao Cup final (in February).
"It’s been the most important game they’ve played. You need to live moments to get better when we start to get these moments, we’ll get better and we can compete.
"Arsenal, Liverpool, (Manchester) City players have all lived finals and competed for titles. We’re going to be there soon but it’s the reason we are still far and not ready to compete."
A shadow was cast over Chelsea's day, however, when Wesley Fofana left the pitch with an injury. Maresca confirmed the seriousness of the situation: "It’s a hamstring problem, it usually requires three, four, five weeks, could lose 10 or 12 games. The way he’s playing it’s a big loss for us, but we have more players and we will find a solution. It’s normal when you play this number of games."
Villa manager Unai Emery has acknowledged the challenges his team faces, following a winless streak that has left them in 12th place. "We know this year is going to be more difficult," he admitted.
He cited the strength of teams like Chelsea and emphasised the need to rebuild confidence and grasp why the season was getting tougher: "We built last year so fast. We’re enjoying it now playing in Europe, but the league is the most important competition and we have to try to come back."
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