Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Maresca (Photo by Ryan Pierse, Warren Little/Getty Images)
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca spoke at a press conference ahead of this weekend’s big game against Arsenal in the Premier League.
The Blues host the Gunners at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon in what could be a crucial six points in this season’s title race.
Chelsea are currently six points behind league leaders Arsenal, but remain in good form after defeating Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League this week.
Maresca held a press conference in the lead-up to the match, discussing topics such as the Moises Caicedo vs. Declan Rice controversy and Cole Palmer’s fitness. Read the full press conference below…
Full transcript of Enzo Maresca press conference
Are there any other concerns after Tuesday night?
No, we also have Dario Essugo. He participated in this morning’s session. So, it’s good news for both parties.
Will Estevao Willian perform like he did on Tuesday, making it very difficult not to pick him week in and week out?
It’s always good for the first time they play to do the right thing. They always give me doubts about the next game in this case, so that’s good. But it’s important that they play well and do the right things when they have the chance. And that’s always a good problem for managers.
Arsenal are top of the league and top of the Champions League. What do you think sets Arsenal apart from others this season?
They certainly play great defense. No matter which team we’re playing against, it’s not just difficult to score goals, it’s difficult to even create chances. I mean, it’s a team that they defend very well. And when you attack, you have a weapon. I mean, as you said, I think they’re top of the Champions League at the moment and they’re also top of the Premier League. And I will do my best to win the match.
Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice are two of the best midfielders in the Premier League, but do you think this midfield battle will be the key between who comes out on top on Sunday?
I think there are a lot of good players, very good midfielders in the Premier League. As you said, Moises, Declan, Rodri at City, (Elliott) Anderson at Nottingham Forest, (Bruno) Guimarães at Newcastle. I think there are a lot of very good midfielders in the Premier League.
But do you think the battle in midfield will be crucial on Sunday?
That’s a big part, but it’s not the only part. I think it’s 11-11 coming off the bench. The big picture is not just part of the picture. It’s a big game between 1st place and 2nd place.
If we win, we will have a three point difference with Arsenal. There is talk that Chelsea are not expected to win the Premier League this season. But if we can close that gap by beating Arsenal on Sunday, is there a feeling inside that we might actually achieve it this year?
In any case, I think it’s too early. Even if I win or not, I think it’s too early. It’s only the end of November, and there are still five or six months left. I think it’s very important how we are in February, March, and from there we will make decisions and see if we can achieve something important.
Do you think Arsenal are an even bigger challenge than they were on Tuesday night?
As I said after the match, I think this is another big match. We won one game against Barcelona. As you said, it felt great to win. And now there’s one more thing. I don’t know if it’s bigger than the last one. There is no doubt that each match is important to me. If we could beat Barcelona or even beat Arsenal, it would be a great feeling. However, in the end the difference was 3 points.
Do you feel different during training? Is the atmosphere and way of thinking completely different?
Well, we’re doing very well in the Premier League, we’re doing very well in the Champions League, so our mindset and atmosphere at the moment is very good. I think it’s also a good feeling to be able to see that we are improving and growing. So this is the best feeling for us.
There was a great atmosphere at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. How important is it to recreate that on Sunday? Can you put it to good use?
Yes, that’s right. We need that environment and we need the fans that we had. And it’s always nice to share such moments with everyone at the end of the game.
This time last year, people were saying you might win the title and you downplayed it. Do you think it’s different now? Do you think we are ready to win as a group?
I think it’s clearly changed compared to a year ago. We’ve been together for another year. We all experienced moments from which we can learn. Again, very fast for me. It’s still the end of November and December. So it’s very early and it’s important to be where we are in March, April. We’ll see what happens after that.
You can see the difference in the mentality of the players this season and a win against Barcelona will surely help, right?
Yes, but these players, you understand that we’re always talking about the last game. But I think these guys have shown time and time again that they can beat teams. I think we had some good moments in the Premier League last year where we were able to beat teams. And PSG, Club World Cup final. This season, we don’t know whether we will play against Liverpool or Barcelona. We always compete. Sometimes you can win, and sometimes you can’t. But it’s important to compete with every team.
So the difficult thing is to maintain the level of performance that you produced on Tuesday night and have some consistency given that it’s a young group?
Yes, but I think we’re moving in the right direction.
Arsenal are really strong from set pieces. How do you argue with that?
We try to defend in the best way we can. I don’t think Arsenal are only against one or two teams. Arsenal score goals from set pieces against every team. In the final match against Bayern Munich, he scored the opening goal from a corner kick. It wasn’t just about scoring a goal. They score goals against every team. They have a system in place that works very well and we’re going to do our best to defend in the best way possible.
How different is the challenge from trying to prepare for the game against Barcelona compared to now facing Arsenal?
Like you said, it’s a different challenge. We planned the match against Barcelona in a certain way. We have to plan the game against Arsenal differently, but we’ll see at the end of the game.
Will having Palmer back energize the players?
Yes, everyone is happy. My teammates are happy. We are all happy, and the most important thing is that Cole is happy, because after all, being football players, they want to play games and sessions every day.
How worried are defenses about Palmer and Estebao working together?
No, you can play together. It depends on every team and a little bit on the game plan, but I’m sure they’re excited. Fans are excited to see both together. We’re also excited because we think ultimately there’s always going to be a balance between the two phases.
Mentally speaking, your team seems to be improving on that front as well. How do you go about that? How do you go about building that winning mentality that you talk about so much?
Personally, I have already stated several times that the only way to build a winning mentality is to win matches, regardless of the competition. I think we are moving in the right direction. There are players in the locker room who act like leaders. They are growing in this aspect as well, which is very important, especially when you have a group like our team.
What kind of contribution do you hope Palmer will make?
A lot, a lot. Like you said, he’s probably our best player. We’re glad he’s back. Now we need to give him time to get 100% fit. He has had great results so far and I have no doubt that he will do great things for this club in the future.
