Chelsea's Boss Maresca Describes Lead-Up Time as The 'Worst 48 Hours' with the Blues

Chelsea tactician Enzo Maresca stated that the run-up to Saturday's victory against Everton constituted "the worst 48 hours" since his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian delivered a puzzling statement in his after-game interview despite earning a 2-0 win at home through finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those crucial points lifted Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, perhaps improving the atmosphere following a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the side's drought without a win to consecutive matches.

Yet, when questioned about Gusto's contribution and overall performance, Maresca surprisingly disclosed his displeasure over the previous 48-hour period at the organization.

"How the lads want to improve has been excellent and this is the reason why I commend them - because with a host of challenges, they are performing admirably after a tricky week," he stated.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the last 48 hours have been the most difficult because many people failed to back us."

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

When questioned if he meant people within at Chelsea, he responded: "In general. In general," before specifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are extremely happy with the fans."

Injury & Suspension Crisis

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's ongoing fitness and suspension problems, remarking they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the season, in addition to losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.

"I really applaud the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, eleven of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them minus Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, regardless of who is playing, they are doing brilliantly. Today was five games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer there, we have said many times that he's our finest player but we play almost all season minus our best player.

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

Chelsea's triumph over Everton consolidated their position in fourth in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle scheduled in the coming days.

Uncertainty Regarding Maresca's Remark

It was not immediately clear who or what prompted Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the worst of his tenure as Chelsea manager.

In that period, the Italian had traveled back with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, conducted a training session at Cobham, attended a pre-game news conference where he appeared at ease, and engineered a victory over an high-flying Everton team.

It was hard to discern whether any particular media reports had unsettled him, if social media discourse played a role, or if it was something deeper from within the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

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