The Boss Enzo Maresca Labels Lead-Up Time as His 'Most Difficult 48 Hours' with the Blues

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca stated that the run-up to the weekend's victory against Everton represented "the worst 48 hours" he has experienced at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian delivered a rather mysterious statement in his after-game interview even after earning a 2-0 win at home courtesy of goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points sent Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, perhaps lightening the atmosphere following a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the side's winless run to consecutive matches.

But, when asked about Gusto's assist and overall display, Maresca surprisingly shared his annoyance over the previous 48-hour period within the club.

"The way the squad are eager to improve has been excellent and this is the explanation why I praise them - because with a host of problems, they are performing admirably after a complicated week," he said.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because several people didn't support us."

Pressed on his meaning, the ex- Leicester City manager continued: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."

When questioned if he was referring to people internally at Chelsea, he answered: "In general. Overall," before specifying when queried if it was aimed at fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are extremely pleased with the fans."

Injury and Disciplinary Crisis

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's persistent injury and suspension problems, remarking they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the campaign, in addition to losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to two significant injuries.

"I really applaud 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 playing, they are doing fantastic. Today was five games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he's our best player but we play almost all season minus our best player.

"We play five games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so delighted for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to appreciate because the effort from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's triumph over Everton strengthened their standing in 4th place in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle to come in the coming days.

Uncertainty Regarding Maresca's Remark

It was unclear what exactly prompted Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the worst of his spell as Chelsea manager.

In that timeframe, the coach had returned with his staff and players from Bergamo, conducted a training session at Cobham, faced a pre-match news conference where he appeared at ease, and secured a win over an high-flying Everton side.

It was unclear whether any specific press stories had unsettled him, if online comments were a factor, or if it was something deeper from inside the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to deny that it was an issue involving the club's fans, a section of which have still have yet to fully embrace him since his appointment from Leicester in July last year.