Enzo Maresca
Ahead of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park, Enzo Maresca addressed the press, offering insights into the team’s preparation and player status. Chelsea faces Newcastle for the second time in four days, having previously won against them at Stamford Bridge with a score of 2-1. The upcoming match presents new challenges, particularly with the passionate Geordie fans at St. James’ Park.
**Injury and Team News:**
Enzo Maresca said, “No injuries. Everything is fine.”
**Jadon Sancho’s Involvement:**
Enzo Maresca commented on Jadon Sancho’s situation.
Enzo Maresca said “Jadon is doing well since he arrived with us. For sure, he cannot maintain the same level all season because the amount of games is huge. So the last two games he didn’t play, not for any different reason, but just for a tactical and technical decision – no more than that. For sure, because of the amount of games, he is going to play many games and the only thing he has to do is to continue to work hard. Very pleased, especially because I can see him enjoying. That is the most important thing that they can enjoy playing football. This is the first thing and then you can see he is continuing to improve; no matter which position he is playing. The other day, he was playing in a different position in a different part of the pitch and he did fantastic. Again, it’s more or less similar to Jadon: they have to work hard and enjoy, they decide to be football players, to be happy and enjoy that moment. They just have to continue doing that. Yes. For sure, he can do that. No doubt.”
**Reece James’ Performance:**
Enzo Maresca said “He played two Premier League games in a row with us – Liverpool and Newcastle – in both games he was very good. It didn’t surprise me because I know how good he is. It is so important for us, for Reece, for the club; the only thing we want is to keep him fit and this is the main target.”
**Top Four Ambitions and Current State:**
Enzo Maresca expressed his thoughts on Chelsea’s league ambitions.
Enzo Maresca said “I already said that the club never mentioned to me about top four. Since I met the club for the first time, they always mentioned to me that the target, the idea, was to build something important for the next four or five years. For sure, we work every day to reach something important and we are going to try until the end to do our best. Pressure on the players? I don’t think so, to be honest. If you go game by game, you can also see yourself and where you are at that moment and I think this can help a lot, because if you start to think about top four or top six, then you are already thinking about May or June and for me, that’s too far and it’s the same for the players. We are where we are. We are going to continue to try and improve things and then in the end, we will see. No. I still feel the same. First of all, I think this team can improve many, many things. We can do many things better. We can defend better, we can attack better, we can manage the games better. The last 20 minutes against Newcastle, we didn’t manage in the right way. This is also a learning process for these kind of things. We need to learn how to play different kind of games, teams with high pressing, teams that sit back.”
**Premier League Experience:**
Referring to the dynamics of the Premier League,
Enzo Maresca said “It is probably the reason why people are so in love with the Premier League. Because you are from England, you don’t realise how loved the Premier League is. One of the reasons why is because the game never finishes. In my country, for instance, if you are 2-0 up in the last five minutes, you can have five or six players that fall down for 20 seconds or half an hour [laughs].”
**Player Fitness and Pain Management:**
Speaking about player resilience,
Enzo Maresca said “He had a bad moment in the first-half, very bad, but he is better. He was probably playing with pain. Now he is fighting with pain. When you have that kind of injury, you will probably feel pain for the rest of your career, unfortunately it is like this. But he finished well and he looks okay.”
**Defensive Partnerships:**
Enzo Maresca acknowledged the bond between players
Enzo Maresca said “He seems to have a good partnership with Levi Colwill… Yeah. Also, when he played at West Ham away, he played as a full-back with Tosin and Levi. In general, all of them, even Benoit against Liverpool was really good and Panathinaikos he was really good. They are all doing really well.”
**Facing Newcastle’s Quality:**
Considering Newcastle’s strengths,
Enzo Maresca said “I’m always worried. I’m always concerned about the other team. Tomorrow will be the same. We just played two days ago and we know how good they are. Away, they are probably even more because of the environment.”
