Chelsea's Boss Maresca Describes Pre-Match Time as The 'Most Difficult 48 Hours' at the Blues

Chelsea tactician Enzo Maresca stated that the build-up to Saturday's victory against Everton represented "the toughest 48 hours" he has experienced with the London club.

The 44-year-old made a rather mysterious message in his after-game media briefing despite notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge courtesy of strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points propelled Chelsea once again into the Premier League's top four, potentially improving the mood after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's winless run to four fixtures.

Yet, when asked about the full-back's contribution and overall performance, Maresca unexpectedly shared his frustration over the previous two days at the club.

"The way the players want to improve has been excellent and this is the reason why I commend them - because with numerous issues, they are performing admirably after a difficult week," he commented.

"Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the most difficult because several people failed to back us."

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

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

Fitness & Suspension Woes

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's persistent fitness and disciplinary problems, noting they had been missing key forward Cole Palmer for a large portion of the campaign, in addition to losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and striker Liam Delap to two significant injuries.

"I truly commend the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them minus Moises Caicedo, eleven of them minus Cole Palmer, almost all of them minus Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, no matter who is on the pitch, they are doing brilliantly. Today was 5 games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer playing, we said many times that he's our finest player but we play the vast majority of the season minus our top player.

"We play 5 games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would like people externally to appreciate because the work from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's win over Everton strengthened their position in fourth in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup last-eight tie at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle scheduled in the coming days.

Uncertainty Over Maresca's Comments

It was unclear who or what caused Maresca to describe the previous 48 hours as the worst of his spell as Chelsea manager.

In that period, the coach had returned with his staff and players from Bergamo, held a training session at the training ground, attended a pre-match news conference where he seemed at ease, and secured a win over an high-flying Everton team.

It was hard to discern whether any specific media reports had irked him, if online comments played a role, or if it was something more significant from within the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca only sought to rule out that it was an issue related to the club's supporters, a section of which have still have yet to fully warm to him since his arrival from Leicester during July last year.