Enzo Maresca believes Chelsea aren't ready to challenge for the title
Chelsea beat Brentford 2-1 as they closed the gap on Liverpool to two points
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By JEORGE BIRD
Published: 18:53 EST, 15 December 2024 | Updated: 18:53 EST, 15 December 2024
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has revealed why he feels his team aren't capable of challenging for the Premier League title this season.
The Blues secured a 2-1 win at home to Brentford on Sunday to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool to just two points, although Arne Slot's side have a game in hand.
Marc Cucurella put Chelsea in front just before half time, with Nicolas Jackson making it 2-0 in the 80th minute.
There was an eventful end to the game as Bryan Mbeumo got a goal back for Brentford late on, while Cucurella was sent off in stoppage time.
Cucurella received a second bookable offence for pushing Kevin Schade shortly after he had fouled Fabio Carvalho.
Chelsea have enjoyed an impressive run of five successive Premier League victories but Maresca feels that the title will be beyond his team this season.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca revealed why he feels his team can't challenge for the title
The Blues are just two points behind leaders Liverpool following a 2-1 victory over Brentford
Maresca feels that the manner in which Chelsea concede goals will hinder their title hopes.
As reported by The Mirror, Maresca said: 'No matter how many games we win, I think we are not ready to compete for the title.
'One of the reasons why is that the team that knows how to compete to win titles, they won't concede goals we concede. A team that knows how to win titles, that is not a goal they know how to concede.'
'Just two teams have conceded less than us. Defensively we're not doing bad. We'd like to end with a clean sheet but there's another team trying to score.'
As Maresca alludes to, Chelsea have only conceded 19 goals in the league this season, with Arsenal (15) and Liverpool (13) the only teams to have conceded fewer.
Maresca indicated that there are some improvements his team needs to make defensively
However, Maresca believes that there is still some room for his side to improve defensively.
Chelsea host Shamrock Rovers in the Europa Conference League on Thursday before returning to league action three days later with a trip to face Everton.
Maresca's team have exceeded expectations with their performances in the league this season and they will be determined to keep their standards high during the second half of the campaign to ensure that Liverpool remain under pressure.