(18 Apr 2025)
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1. 00:00 SOUNDBITE (English): Enzo Maresca, Chelsea head coach:
"In the last two years Chelsea has been zero times top four, top five. This season we spent all season, almost all season, top four, top five, Champions League spot. We are in a semi-final European competition. So why now we need to change something? I think I don’t have any doubt about what we are doing, in the way we are doing and for different reasons we had some bad moment or some setback like tonight during the season for sure. But this for me makes us stronger for the future."
2. 00:40 SOUNDBITE (English): Enzo Maresca, Chelsea head coach:
"No doubt that using them tonight is to build a little bit the physical condition but also to build mentally a little bit because they struggle to score in this moment. So to give them 45 minutes to one hour is also a chance to see if they can score and they can go again and when they don’t score for sure I’m worried."
3. 01:09 SOUNDBITE (English): Enzo Maresca, Chelsea head coach:
"For sure you need that. 100 per cent. Now if you don’t have you need to build also a leadership. And this is the reason why I said at the beginning I was trying to complain a little bit about Reece (James), because I want more from him and he’s doing more. So when you don’t have a leader
at least you have to try to build some leader. And in this moment Reece is doing well. We have two or three more players that they are making the effort to help the rest. But for sure when you have a real leader it’s much better to manage different problems during the season.
SOURCE: Agency Pool
DURATION: 01:52
STORYLINE:
Enzo Maresca insisted on Thursday that he has the full support of the club’s owners as his Chelsea side push for a strong finish to the season.
Speaking after The Blues’ 2-1 defeat by Legia Warsaw, a result that drew jeers from the crowd but still put the Blues into the UEFA Conference League semi-finals 4-2 on aggregate, Maresca defended the overall progress the team has made.
"We have spent almost all season in a Champions League spot," he said. "We are in a European semi-final. So why now we need to change something? I don’t have any doubt about what we are doing and the way we are doing. For different reasons we had setbacks like (against Legia), but for me this makes us stronger for the future."
The Blues will play Swedish side Djurgarden in the last four and remain favourites to lift the trophy in Wroclaw on 28th May.
Last Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw at home to Ipswich pushed Chelsea out of the top five but, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Fulham, Maresca said he saw no reason to panic.
Maresca made the surprise decision to start Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson against Legia, who trailed 3-0 from the first leg in Poland.
Neither player has scored since January, with Jackson having missed around two months with injury during that period, and the team have struggled without the goals of their most prolific attacking threats.
"No doubt that using them tonight is to build a little bit the physical condition but also to build mentally a little bit because they struggle to score in this moment," he said. "When they don’t score for sure I’m worried."
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