Chelsea came from two goals down to claim a 4-3 win at Tottenham on Sunday
Blues have pulled away from Arsenal and Man City and are four points from top
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By KIERAN GILL and GEORGE SESSIONS, PA
Published: 18:02 EST, 8 December 2024 | Updated: 18:02 EST, 8 December 2024
Enzo Maresca said 'the fans can dream' after Sunday's sensational comeback at Tottenham capped a weekend in which Chelsea closed the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool while pulling further away from Arsenal and Manchester City.
Maresca maintains that he himself does not believe they are truly ready to be in this season's title race, even joking their rivals will not 'slide like Marc Cucurella' after his two slips led to Spurs' goals here.
However, Chelsea's head coach will not try to dissuade his supporters from dreaming.
'The fans can dream because from the outside, it is quite clear,' Maresca said after his side came back from two goals down to win.
'Inside, the reality is we are not ready, but the important thing is we improve day by day. Arsenal, City and Liverpool probably don't slide like Marc Cucurella did!'
Cole Palmer scored two penalties – including a Panenka – despite never practising them. Maresca simply added: 'He's cold.'
Enzo Maresca said ‘the fans can dream’ after Sunday's sensational comeback at Tottenham
Chelsea closed the gap to leaders Liverpool while pulling away from Arsenal and Man City
Even though Maresca was content to downplay Chelsea's league championship aspirations, he acknowledged the ingredients of this result showed the strong mentality of the youngest squad in the Premier League.
'This for sure is an important win,' the Italian added. 'First of all for the way that it arrives because to come into this stadium, against this team and to concede two goals but to continue with the same plan on the ball, off the ball, it show how the players are in this moment mentally strong. This is important.
'Since we start, we are trying to work the way we want to play on and off the ball, but also we are trying to work in terms of mentality and togetherness.
'To come into this season to think you are going to win or compete without suffer or without some bad moments is impossible. We were ready for that.
'It is probably too much after 15 minutes to give away two goals but it is the perfect win probably because of this.'
Enzo MarescaChelsea