The Boss Maresca Calls Pre-Match Period as His 'Worst Two Days' with the Club

Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca remarked that the run-up to Saturday's victory against Everton constituted "the toughest 48 hours" he has experienced at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian delivered a rather mysterious message in his post-match media briefing despite notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those three precious points propelled Chelsea once again into the Premier League's top four, potentially lightening the atmosphere following a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's winless run to consecutive outings.

But, when asked about Gusto's contribution and overall display, Maresca unexpectedly disclosed his displeasure over the previous 48-hour period within the club.

"How the squad want to learn has been superb and this is the reason why I commend them - because with numerous issues, they are excelling after a complicated week," he commented.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the previous 48 hours have been the worst because several people failed to back us."

When pushed further on the specifics, the ex- Leicester City boss added: "Worst 48 hours since I came to the club because people failed to back me and the team."

When questioned if he was referring to people internally at Chelsea, he responded: "Broadly speaking. In general," before specifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are very pleased with the fans."

Injury & Suspension Crisis

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's persistent fitness and suspension issues, remarking they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the campaign, as well as losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.

"I really praise the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them minus Cole Palmer, almost all of them minus Liam Delap," he said.

"And this squad, regardless of who is on the pitch, they are performing fantastic. Today was 5 games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer available, we said many times that he's our best player but we play the vast majority of the season without our top player.

"We play five games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to recognize because the effort from the players is fantastic."

Chelsea's success over Everton consolidated their position in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup last-eight tie at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle scheduled next week.

Speculation Over Maresca's Comments

It was unclear who or what caused Maresca to describe the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his time as Chelsea head coach.

In that period, the Italian had returned with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, conducted a training session at the training ground, faced a pre-match news conference where he seemed relaxed, and engineered a victory over an in-form Everton team.

It was hard to discern whether any particular media reports had unsettled him, if social media discourse were a factor, or if it was something deeper from inside the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca only sought to deny that it was an issue involving the club's supporters, a section of which have not yet fully warm to him since his appointment from Leicester in July last year.