Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca gives his reaction after his side won 3-1 at home to newly crowned champions Liverpool in the Premier League
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Chelsea's Italian head coach Enzo Maresca celebrates on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in London on May 4, 2025. Chelsea won the game 3-1. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca celebrates on the pitch after his Chelsea side's win over Liverpool
(Image: HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca believes Liverpool’s lack of injuries were a key factor to them romping to the Premier League title after his Chelsea side dealt a rare setback to the new champions. The Reds lost only their third league game of the season when a much-changed team fell to a 3-1 reverse at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
It breathed fresh life into Chelsea’s hopes of claiming a top-five finish and Champions League qualification.
And while Maresca praised the performance from a much-changed Liverpool team, he regards their player availability as chief reason they stand 19 points ahead of the Londoners.
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“I really think that Liverpool deserve to win the Premier League,” said the Chelsea boss. “They were firstly consistent and secondly they consistently had their squad available, something the rest didn’t have.
“But today they showed the reason why they won the Premier League.
“We didn’t plan to defend (the game). We planned the game for high pressing but sometimes the other team is so good you have to defend it and we had to defend it, the players they did that very good.
“Today was the best environment with the fans.”
Maresca hailed the performance of midfielder Romeo Lavia, who was signed by Chelsea two years ago having been pursued for much of that summer by Liverpool.
“You can see that we are a better team with Romeo,” he said. “Unfortunately he has been injured for most of the season and probably at this moment the difference between us and most clubs is unfortunately we had many important players injured.
“Romeo is one, Wes Fofana is another. Romeo showed again today how important he is for the team.
“The players are on the right page and the culture we want.
“We had some players on the bench who have helped us this season.
“It’s important if you want to fight for something that they are all on the same path.”
Cole Palmer sealed Chelsea’s win with an injury-time penalty to end a 12-game league goal drought. But Maresca insisted the England international had not been affected by his barren run.
“Probably from the outside (it looked like he was unhappy) but we saw Cole day by day at training ground and he’s been in the same way, scoring goals and enjoying the session,” said Maresca.
“The reason he wasn’t happy is because he wanted to help the team and the club.
“Cole is that kind of player who can do things you don’t expect.”