Enzo Maresca
The Blues have suffered their second Premier League defeat this season, with the Reds reclaiming the top position on the table. Mohamed Salah scored for Liverpool during the first half on Merseyside. Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson equalized early in the second half, but Curtis Jones secured the win for Liverpool following a defensive lapse from Chelsea.
Maresca has responded to his team’s loss, providing insights into the match and reflecting on the performance.
Enzo Maresca said, “I think the performance was very good. I just said, we don’t like losing games, dropping points but if you have to decide the way, then this is probably the way. I’ve been in the stadium many times and have seen Liverpool for a long time, it’s not easy. I think overall, we controlled the game and for most parts of the game we dominated the game, but we lost. We are not happy. We conceded two goals. The first is a penalty, it can happen. And the second goal, in the way we conceded the second goal, we have already avoided this season five or six goals because of the line. But as I said, we controlled the game for the most part and we have to be proud of this. At the same time, a bit upset because we don’t like losing the game.”
Regarding defensive improvements,
Enzo Maresca commented, “Yeah, for sure, we need to work not only for the clean sheet but we need to work on many things. If you see the goal we scored and the goal we conceded, the goal we scored, we are probably the first, second or third best and the goal we concede, we are the third or the fourth conceding goals. We can do many, many things better, no doubt. But at the same time, we need to understand game after game, the defensive line is getting better.”
On substituting Reece James,
Enzo Maresca stated, “Yeah, for him and Romeo [Lavia], the idea was for him and Romeo to have one hour or 55 minutes maximum. I was quite afraid to keep them on for more minutes on the pitch so I decided to change both of them on 55 minutes.”
When asked about controversial referee decisions,
Enzo Maresca added, “I’m relaxed. I’m not happy because we lost. But I’m relaxed and happy with the performance of the team. The decision from the referee has been clear for you, it’s been clear for me, and it’s been clear for probably all of you. The referee is there to make decisions. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are wrong.”
