Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca faced the media following Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Servette in Geneva. The Blues did manage to qualify for the Conference League league phase with a 3-2 victory on aggregate but it was perhaps more nervy than it should have been in Switzerland. Maresca faced the media following the game and here is every word the Chelsea head coach had to say… Why was the game so difficult to manage?
Enzo Maresca said “I think the first half an hour we scored a goal and had three or four more chances, and if we were able to score then the game was finished because it would have been 2-0. And then we conceded a goal and it’s normal to suffer a little bit. I told you yesterday but I was very, very worried about this game because they are tricky games. For them, it’s probably the game of their season. Against us, the pitch is not great, the environment, it’s 30 degrees and I was very worried about the condition of the game. On and off the ball, the team was very aggressive. We created four or five chances in the first-half and if we score, the game is finished. Then it is football – they score and it’s a boost for them. But in the end, we deserved it, so we are happy. Yeah, probably, yes. In this kind of game, in the end you have many things to lose and not many things to win. But this is the reason why I was so worried yesterday and before the game. But the way we started, the way we played in the first half an hour was unbelievable. On the ball, we were very good and then we conceded a goal. It then becomes a bit more difficult. Is it acceptable for the game to be held up by fireworks from inside the stadium? It’s difficult to control these kind of things. Unfortunately it happened. Yeah, probably. We need more control. Where does this competition rank for you? It is a competition where we are going to try and do our best in. I think tonight, once again, the team shows in the way we started that the team was there. Then the game, we concede; they had some chances and we lost a little bit of confidence. But overall, even in the second-half I am now thinking a bit that I remember three times one-v-one with the goalkeeper. In the end, if we are able to take the chances, especially in the first-half when we are 1-0 up, if we are able to score the second one then the game is finished. It’s one more competition. We have Conference League, Premier League, FA Cup, the Carabao Cup – they are all competitions where we are going to try and do our best and then we will see where we arrive.”
What did you make of Tyrique George’s debut?
Enzo Maresca said “I think he was good. The most important thing is he was not shy. He was [playing] with personality. He is a young player. We also had Josh Acheampong on the bench. Unfortunately Harrison [McMahon] was not on the bench but the idea is to slowly, slowly build something important with them and the academy players.”
What do you think of Noni Madueke being called up to the England squad for the first time?
Enzo Maresca said “Very happy. He is doing very well. As I said after the Wolves game: now the most important thing for him is not to drop anything and continue to keep working hard. We are happy with him, Levi [Colwill], Cole [Palmer] and for the rest that they are going to be with international teams.”
