Chelsea's Boss Maresca Labels Lead-Up Time as His 'Worst Two Days' with the Blues

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca remarked that the build-up to Saturday's win against Everton was "the toughest 48 hours" he has experienced with the London club.

The 44-year-old made a puzzling statement in his post-match media briefing despite securing a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge through strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those three precious points propelled Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, potentially lightening the atmosphere following a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the side's winless run to four matches.

Yet, when asked about Gusto's assist and general performance, Maresca surprisingly shared his annoyance over the preceding 48-hour period within the club.

"The way the lads are eager to improve has been excellent and this is the reason why I praise them - because with numerous problems, they are doing very well after a complicated week," he commented.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because many people didn't support us."

When pushed further on what he meant, the ex- Leicester City manager continued: "Most difficult 48 hours since I came to the club because people failed to back me and the team."

When asked if he was referring to people within at Chelsea, he answered: "Broadly speaking. Overall," before clarifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans."

Injury and Disciplinary Crisis

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's ongoing injury and suspension issues, remarking they had been without key forward Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as being deprived of linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.

"I truly applaud the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, regardless of who is on the pitch, they are doing brilliantly. Today was five games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he's our top player but we play the vast majority of the season minus our best player.

"We play 5 games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so happy for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to appreciate because the commitment from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's success over Everton consolidated their position in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup last-eight clash at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle scheduled in the coming days.

Uncertainty Over Maresca's Remark

It was ambiguous who or what caused Maresca to label the past 48 hours as the most difficult of his tenure as Chelsea manager.

In that window, the coach had returned with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, held a session at the training ground, attended a pre-game press briefing where he seemed relaxed, and engineered a win over an high-flying Everton team.

It was not obvious whether any particular media reports had irked him, if social media comments played a role, or if it was something deeper from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an issue involving the club's fans, a section of which have still have yet to fully embrace him since his appointment from Leicester in July last year.