Maresca on another away defeat for Chelsea

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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on another away defeat for Chelsea  16/03/2025  Emirates Stadium, London, UK

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00:00What did you think of the game?

00:03I think we struggled a little bit at the beginning, I think the first 20 minutes we struggled

00:09a little bit, then after that we started to control the game, we started to create some

00:13chances and then the second half of the game was I think 50-50 and for me the big difference

00:20has been set-piece strategy.

00:22Chelsea haven't won an away game in the league since December 8th, is that a worry and can

00:32you achieve what you want to achieve if that record continues?

00:38First of all we're going to try to win more games away, in this moment I think we are

00:42winning quite games at home and we're going to try to do the same away.

00:46I think at the beginning of the season we were winning games away and struggled some

00:50games at home, now it's on the other side but I think we are there, for sure we need

00:56to improve also away but overall I think we are there.

01:02How much has the team been struggling offensively without the players that have been out and

01:08obviously Cole's out today, has it made a big difference to your offensive?

01:13I think it's a huge difference, if you think that the three players with more goals for

01:19us are Cole Palmer, Nicola Jackson and Noni Madueke, no one of them was inside the pitch

01:24today, two of them it's already a long time that they are out so it's normal that offensively

01:31we can struggle a little bit even if I think until today we are the second or the third

01:37best attacking of the league so that means that we are in any case doing well without

01:43that players but we could do better with the players that in this moment they are injured.

01:49Do you think that the players, I know there's a few injuries, but do you think the players

01:55also have an issue with belief in these big games, even before you arrived Chelsea struggled

02:01to beat Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Manchester United, the record's been pretty poor in these

02:07big games, do you think that's a problem?

02:10If the results they say that, what I can say between the first leg against Arsenal and

02:18today's game, to be honest I don't see a big difference between us and them, so this means

02:24that we are, for me, since I arrived, I don't know before, since I arrived I have the feeling

02:29that we are in the right path and we are very close.

02:32Now as you said probably we need just that step forward to compete also in these kind

02:38of games but probably that step comes also finish top four, top five, Champions League

02:44spot where you also grow in that competition.

02:50Can we just check on Karl Palmer, I know he's missed it out with an injury, do you expect

02:54him to be available for England?

02:57I don't think so to be honest because his injury was from yesterday's session, it's a

03:01muscle problem so I don't think so.

03:06You don't obviously wish an injury on a player, do you think a break might be what he might

03:10need just to get himself right?

03:12As you said we don't wish player injury but probably in Karl's case in this moment, probably

03:17give him also some rest physically and mentally, probably it could be good.

03:24Just to follow up from that on Karl, maybe have certain details on how it happened maybe

03:30and does he need to go and have a scan or is he okay to just sit and rest and miss training

03:36for a week or so?

03:37No he needs a scan and the scan is planned for Monday, today is Sunday not for Monday,

03:43for tomorrow morning.

03:45But you're still confident he'll be back for your first game after the international break?

03:49I hope so, I hope so but we need to wait for the scan.

03:53And is it, because I think last time when you missed an international break it was the

03:58knee injury, it's not the same knee or anything like that, is it a knee injury, hamstring

04:01or anything like that?

04:02It's a muscle problem, a muscle injury.

04:05Malek.

04:06You said a while ago that Noni, Jackson, Mark Giel would all be back after the international

04:12break, are you still expecting that to be the case?

04:14Mark Giel, I didn't say that, I mentioned Nico and Noni that they are progressing very

04:20good and they can be back after the international break.

04:23Jürgen.

04:24With Parma out today, did you expect more from Nkunku and Sancho to make an impact on

04:31this game?

04:32It's not, first of all as we score many goals, they don't concede many goals, I think they

04:38are the first or the second one so it's not easy to create chances against them and for

04:43sure when you have important players injured it's not easy.

04:49But I think Jadon did quite well, Christo also, I don't have the feeling that they could

04:57do something better, for sure we can create and we can attack better as a team.

05:03Two more, Pizza and then Robert.

05:07Hi, can I just get your thoughts on Robert Sanchez's performance today, I know you said

05:12about taking him out of the team to rest him, it feels like at times he's a little bit cranky

05:16with things, were you hoping the rest might have helped him find that out a little bit?

05:23I think he did a good game, he did some good saves, on the feet, with the feet he gave

05:30us in some moments he was quite good, in some moments he struggled a little bit, but overall

05:35I think the performance from Robert was good.

05:38You've said a few times that you think the team can't afford to rely on Cole, do you

05:45think they showed today that they can be useful in testing without him, or did it show us

05:51today that you are actually quite reliant on him?

05:54No, to be honest I didn't have this feeling, I didn't have this feeling, because probably

05:59without Cole but if Nico was there or Noni was there probably the team was different,

06:03it's not just about one player and when I say that we cannot rely on Cole it's just

06:10because I think it's correct to say because you cannot rely on one player, first of all

06:16it's the team but also don't give too much pressure to Cole.

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