Enzo Maresca has sent a vague attack on some people at Chelsea, saying that the last 48 hours have been the worst since he took over at Stamford Bridge. The Italian coach wouldn’t say who he was talking about, but he did say he was “very happy” with the fans after Saturday’s 2-0 home win over Everton.
The win ended a four-game winless streak for the Blues, who had only gotten two points from their last four games in all competitions. Chelsea had lost to Leeds United and Atalanta in the Champions League and drawn with Arsenal and Bournemouth.
This put Maresca under a lot of pressure. However, the win at Stamford Bridge put them fourth in the Premier League table, taking some of the pressure off the manager for a while.
Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto scored goals to give Chelsea three important points against Everton, who were in good form and had won four of their last five Premier League games. Palmer scored in his first game at Stamford Bridge in almost four months. He missed Tuesday’s Champions League loss because of a groin injury.
After the game, Maresca praised his players for being flexible and dedicated during a tough time:
“It’s the effort from the players… We said many times that Reece and Malo, they are both full-backs and today they were both midfielders. So the effort, the open mind, the way they want to learn has been fantastic and this is the reason why I praise the players because with so many problems, they are doing very well after a complicated week.”
The manager then delivered his shocking criticism without going into detail about what angered him:
“Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst 48 hours since I joined the club because many people didn’t support us. So I’m very happy for Malo in that moment that the effort from Malo and from the rest show that they are all there and they want to help this club.”
When asked to be more specific about whether he meant the club hierarchy, the media, or the fans, Maresca repeated his claim that he didn’t get support from “people” in general before saying he was happy with the fanbase.
Cole Palmer Comes Back as Chelsea End Their Winless Streak
Chelsea needed Cole Palmer’s return to get them going again after their long dry spell. In the 21st minute, the England international shot powerfully past Jordan Pickford after a sharp pass from Malo Gusto to open the scoring at Stamford Bridge.
Gusto then doubled the lead before halftime by scoring after a quick counter-attack from a Pedro Neto assist. Chelsea’s win was their first since they beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League on November 25.
Palmer has had a tough season because injuries have kept him from being as effective. Maresca has said before that Chelsea has played 11 Premier League games without their best playmaker, five games without Moises Caicedo, and almost the whole season without Liam Delap.