Enzo Maresca earnestly believes that all factions of **Chelsea**are "going in the same direction" as the club completed their return to the [**Champions League](https://www.vavel.com/en/data/champions-league)**with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest. It was a tricky trip to the Midlands but brought a result that left the manager feeling bullish at full time.
‘This environment was not easy’
Maresca made clear his delight as the team ticked off one of their targets with a spot in the top five.
“I’m very happy for many reasons. First of all because I think the players deserve this. Since day one they have been working very hard with the club. The owners, the sporting director, the players we go in the same direction, and I said many times in the season that the noise was more from outside.”
It was not a simple task. Nottingham Forest have felled all of the 'Big Six' this season. **Liverpool**and **Arsenal**dropped points at the City Ground, while **Tottenham**and the Manchester clubs walked away with defeats against one of the overperformers of the campaign. But the Blues found a way.
“Man City* lost here, Arsenal drew here, Liverpool drew here, and Chelsea won so it's not easy it's not easy. The players show how good they are the effort they ever have been and unfortunately, we are in a business where the people you judge us because of the results and today in case we had not been able to win the game probably all of you would judge this season a disaster. But it was not a disaster.”*
The manager mentioned how his players had to adapt to triumph in this contest. Though he has been heralded as a man who wants to control games with the ball, his men displayed defensive discipline.
“We have our way we want to reach results and want to play, and I think that the players were top. We also adjust how to work off the ball. This environment was not easy, but they deal with that very well.”
The attention of the 45-year-old could have been all over the place. Their fate could have depended on results for Aston Villa, who lost 2-0 to **Man United**at Old Trafford, or Newcastle United, who also suffered a defeat at home to Everton. But Maresca treated this match as a straight shootout to book a ticket into the **Champions League**and shared that he had got very few updates about other games.
*“They told me once and that's been when Man United scored the second goal. My assistant manager Willie Caballero said Man United scored and it was 2-0. It was the only information I got through the game. Everyone was waiting for us to draw points and see if Man United would win but I said to the players all week that we do not need to watch Aston Villa. We need to do our job. We need to win.”*
‘It can become a very good season’
With this win, **Chelsea**clapped back at the critics. They suffered a serious slump in the wintry months that turned their dreams of an unlikely title charge into a frenetic scramble to finish in the top five. But victories over Liverpool, Man United, **Everton**and now Forest have proven the spirit in the squad.
“I’m very proud because first of all because of the players. I feel part of their improvement through the season, and I feel especially proud for that because they are a fantastic group, good boys, they work hard they try to help each other, and I said probably most of them I was from outside that we were not good enough we are too young we don’t have enough leaders: all these kinds of things.”
The billions of Todd Boehly have not neutered all the problems in the squad. Maresca is in charge of a youthful group that has still to scale some steps to be a serious contender at the highest level. However, he has taken pride in his leadership of the players up the rankings as they conceded 20 fewer goals than they did under Mauricio Pochettino and have moved two places up the table.
“I said many times this season was already good. Twelfth two years ago, sixth last year and fourth this season with probably the youngest squad in Premier League history so I’m very happy.”
The Italian then indicated the importance of being back in the Champions League. It is the first time in three seasons that the club can look forward to a tournament that boasts the best across Europe.
“I'm not thinking about the summer. Today is a day we have to be happy because we brought this club where this club has to be the most important European competition. That’s the most important thing. Tomorrow, we will start to prepare Wednesday final and then we have days to see for next season.”
He also spoke about the performances of his players in the second half of the season. Since the start of the new year, they are seventh in the top tier— mimicking some of the struggles that Leicester City encountered last year. But that does not take away from his happiness with the work from the squad.
“I think that from January we played many good games. Probably from some of you they said that from January we didn't play so many good games. But I think from January we played many good games and today we achieve an important target for the club, and we are very happy.”
It could get even better for the Blues before the end of the week. A win would only have earned them a spot in the Europa League, but they have the chance to add a trophy to their cabinet for the first time since the start of 2022 when they confront Real Betis in the final of the Conference League.
*“We were in four competitions at the beginning of the season. Today we finished in Champions League. If we are able to win on Wednesday, we went out from FA Cup and Carabao Cup, but I think we can say that has been a very good season. I already said for me it was a good season, but it can become very good if we were able to get the Champions League and we can win on Wednesday.”*