Chelsea's Boss Enzo Maresca Calls Lead-Up Time as The 'Most Difficult 48 Hours' with the Club

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca remarked that the run-up to Saturday's victory against Everton was "the toughest 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.

The Italian made a puzzling message in his after-game media briefing despite securing a 2-0 win at home through goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points propelled Chelsea once again into the Premier League's top four, perhaps improving the atmosphere after a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the side's winless run to consecutive fixtures.

However, when questioned about the full-back's contribution and general display, Maresca surprisingly divulged his displeasure over the previous 48-hour period within the organization.

"How the players want to improve has been excellent and this is the explanation why I praise them - because with numerous issues, they are excelling after a complicated week," he said.

"Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the most difficult because a lot of people didn't support us."

When pushed further on his meaning, the ex- Leicester City manager continued: "Worst 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 internally at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. In general," before specifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are extremely content with the fans."

Injury & Disciplinary Crisis

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's persistent fitness and disciplinary problems, noting they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the campaign, in addition to being deprived of key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.

"I truly commend the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them minus Liam Delap," he said.

"And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are doing fantastic. Today was 5 games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he's our top player but we play almost all season minus our best player.

"We play 5 games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to acknowledge because the effort from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's success over Everton strengthened their standing in fourth in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup last-eight tie at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come next week.

Speculation Over Maresca's Comments

It was not immediately clear what exactly prompted Maresca to describe the previous 48 hours as the worst of his tenure as Chelsea manager.

In that window, the Italian had returned with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, held a session at the training ground, faced a pre-match news conference where he appeared relaxed, and secured a win over an high-flying Everton team.

It was unclear whether any particular media reports had unsettled him, if online discourse played a role, or if it was something deeper from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to deny that it was an issue involving the club's supporters, some of whom have still have yet to fully embrace him since his appointment from Leicester in July 2024.