Key moments from Enzo Maresca’s press conference ahead of the Blues clash against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca was hesitant to put the Blues in the title race in his press conference for Sunday’s game. The Italian coach stated in response to a question on his side’s position in the title race: “No, I said many times, I didn’t like the pressure, I would like to say yes we are there but we are not”
The Blues currently sit third in the Premier League and their performances so far this season have given fans hope that Maresca will be able to find major success in his first season at the club. Despite sitting above Arsenal and Manchester City’s recent poor form, Maresca believes that these sides are still a level above his team
He claimed: “You have to be realistic, and consider the difference between us and the other teams”
He reassured fans however that his team will still be competitive: “This doesn’t mean we’re not going to compete, for sure we will compete and try to win every game.”
Whilst the Villans have been on poor form, winless in their last seven games, Maresca praised Aston Villa and emphasised the difficulty of this fixture: “Top manager [Unai Emery], they're doing fantastic. I know how intense they are, very good players, will be a tough game.”
Unai Emery’s side was held to a 0-0 draw in their last outing against Juventus, although they were unfortunate not to win the game due to a dubious disallowed Morgan Rogers goal.
Maresca became familiar with Emery due to their mutual relationship with Sevilla. Maresca played at Sevilla from 2005-2009, four years before Emery became manager and won three Europa Leagues with them.
The Blue’s head coach ended the press conference shutting down the idea that he has 2 set separate squads for Premier League football and other competitions.
“We don’t separate the squad, we use different players but the squad is only one.”
Due to the size of the squad, it is fair to believe that Maresca has enough players at his disposal to have two separate squads for different competitions. Instead, Maresca argued that the rotation of players changes from game to game to adapt their opponents and protect his players.
The Italian coach did not mention any new injury updates, with the aim to have a fully fit squad against Aston Villa apart from Reece James and Omari Kellyman.
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