The Boss Enzo Maresca Describes Pre-Match Period as His 'Worst Two Days' with the Blues

Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca remarked that the build-up to Saturday's triumph against Everton constituted "the worst 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.

The 44-year-old offered a rather mysterious comment in his post-match press conference despite notching a 2-0 win at home through goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those three precious points lifted 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 extended the side's drought without a win to consecutive matches.

However, when asked about the full-back's assist and general display, Maresca surprisingly shared his annoyance over the previous two days at the club.

"How the lads want to learn has been fantastic and this is the explanation why I applaud them - because with so many issues, they are excelling after a complicated week," he commented.

"Since I joined the club, the past 48 hours have been the most difficult because several people withheld support from us."

When pushed further on his meaning, the ex- Leicester City boss elaborated: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people failed to back me and the team."

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

Injury & Suspension Crisis

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's persistent injury and suspension problems, remarking they had been without key forward Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as being deprived of linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and forward Liam Delap to two significant injuries.

"I truly applaud the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them minus Moises Caicedo, eleven of them without Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them without Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, no matter who is on the pitch, they are performing exceptionally. 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 the vast majority of the season minus our top player.

"We play 5 games in the Premier League without 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 acknowledge because the effort from the players is fantastic."

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

Speculation Over Maresca's Comments

It was not immediately clear who or what prompted Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his spell as Chelsea manager.

In that timeframe, the coach had traveled back with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, held a training session at the training ground, faced a pre-match press briefing where he seemed relaxed, and secured a win over an in-form Everton side.

It was not obvious whether any specific media reports had irked him, if social media discourse played a role, or if it was something deeper from inside the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an issue involving the club's supporters, some of whom have still have yet to fully warm to him since his appointment from Leicester in July last year.