Enzo Maresca Addresses Chelsea’s Title Hopes, Squad Depth, and Enzo Fernandez’s Status

Prior to Sunday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa, scheduled for a 13:30 GMT kick-off, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca addressed the media. The following are the main points from his press conference: Despite Chelsea’s current third-place standing in the Premier League, Maresca responded with a direct “no” when questioned about their involvement in the title race. He stated, “I said many times – I didn’t like the pressure. I didn’t like to say yes we are there, but we are not there.” Instead, he directed attention to competing teams: “Arsenal are ahead of us, [Manchester] City is ahead of us, Liverpool showing they are ahead of us. The important thing is we improve game after game and then we will see.” Addressing whether he considers the league table and team standings, Maresca commented: “For me, it is not about points or the table, it is about the process and the programme. Five years together [Arsenal], nine together [Man City]… Liverpool is different but they didn’t make too many changes from before. [It’s] not about the points difference on the table, it is about the time together.” Maresca expressed that witnessing the team’s improvement provides a “good feeling,” but he cautioned: “At the same time, you have to be realistic. You can see the difference between us and the rest in this moment. It doesn’t mean we are not going to compete and win games. We will do that to the end. The main focus has to be the feeling we are improving game after game.” He noted that fostering competition for positions to motivate players is “one of the targets.” He elaborated: “The other day, Romeo [Lavia] was on the bench but that doesn’t mean he’ll be on the bench the next game. It’s the same for Malo Gusto or Pedro Neto, who were out. The good thing is that when we give them minutes, they are ready to have the chance.” Regarding whether any specific change led to Enzo Fernandez’s return to the starting lineup, Maresca explained: “Enzo is doing well since we started. For some games, I take different decisions – [it] doesn’t mean they are out. If they think on the bench they are doing bad, it is not like this. The gameplan requires different kinds of players and that’s the reason why sometimes we go for Moises [Caicedo] and Romeo. We can go in future with Romeo and Enzo or Romeo, Enzo and Moises. It depends on the game.” Addressing his strategy of utilizing different players across European and Premier League fixtures, he clarified: “We don’t separate the squad. We use different players but they are one squad. I take different decisions for every game. Sometimes I change 11 players from one to the other. It is a way to protect players and at the moment it is working. Hopefully, it will work until the end.”