Chelsea's Boss Enzo Maresca Describes Lead-Up Time as His 'Worst Two Days' with the Club

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

The Italian offered a rather mysterious comment in his after-game interview even after notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge courtesy of goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those three precious points propelled Chelsea back into the Premier League's top four, perhaps improving the mood after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's drought without a win to consecutive fixtures.

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

"The way the lads want to develop has been superb and this is the explanation why I praise them - because with a host of issues, they are excelling after a difficult week," he stated.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the past 48 hours have been the toughest because a lot of people withheld support from us."

Pressed on the specifics, the ex- Leicester City boss continued: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."

When asked if he meant people within at Chelsea, he responded: "In general. In general," before specifying when queried if it was aimed at supporters or the press: "I adore the fans and we are extremely happy with the fans."

Fitness and Disciplinary Woes

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's ongoing injury and suspension problems, remarking they had been missing key forward Cole Palmer for much of the campaign, as well as being deprived of key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.

"I really applaud the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, five of them minus Moises Caicedo, 11 of them minus Cole Palmer, almost all of them minus Liam Delap," he said.

"And this squad, no matter who is on the pitch, they are doing brilliantly. Today was five games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer playing, we said many times that he's our top player but we play almost all season minus our top player.

"We play five games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so happy for the players and it's something that I would like people externally to appreciate because the work from the players is outstanding."

Chelsea's win over Everton cemented 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 Regarding Maresca's Remark

It was unclear what exactly caused Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the worst of his tenure as Chelsea manager.

In that timeframe, the coach had returned with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, conducted a session at Cobham, attended a pre-match press briefing where he seemed at ease, and secured a victory over an in-form Everton team.

It was hard to discern whether any specific press stories had irked him, if online discourse were a factor, or if it was something deeper from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an matter related to the club's supporters, some of whom have not yet fully embrace him since his arrival from Leicester during July last year.