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Maresca on Champions League hopes and Forest test (Full Presser)
NicheSportMedia
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24/05/2025
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on their hopes of making the UEFA Champions League and a tough test against fellow European contenders Nottingham Forest
Cobham, London, UK
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Transcript
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00:00
Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, what's up, could you not sleep?
00:14
If you don't have any fun.
00:30
Right, good morning, we shall take the usual format today and we will begin with Gary Cottrell
00:41
and Sky Sports News.
00:46
He's working with us in the last days, him and Marguiou, both can be available for the
01:04
next game, knowing that no one of them played some minutes from the injury.
01:11
So by the next game you mean Forrest?
01:13
Yeah.
01:14
They can be available, yeah.
01:17
In exchange, probably just normal, we saw him over training on Tuesday doing his own session,
01:24
is he OK?
01:25
No, yeah, he's OK.
01:27
Simply he has his own planned programme, because we said already that we try to protect him,
01:37
so we are managing him also in the training session.
01:42
So this is a massive game, five clubs on Sunday, have you ever known a finish to a campaign
01:52
like it in terms of what's at stake?
01:57
Probably also show how difficult it is, you know, the Premier League, so many teams involved.
02:04
The one that they have been consistent has been Liverpool and this is the reason why they
02:09
won the Premier.
02:10
I think all the rest we had during the season, a little bit up and down moment and this is
02:15
the reason why we are there, but we are happy to be there and try to finish in the best way.
02:22
Will you be able to, I mean the crowd will tell you, I'm sure, but will you have a way of
02:27
listening to what's happening in the other matches?
02:30
Because obviously results elsewhere might be a factor, or will you just concentrate on getting
02:34
the win that you need?
02:36
We are quite lucky in this aspect, because if we win we do our job, we don't need to pay
02:43
attention to the other results.
02:45
For sure if we are not winning, probably we need to pay attention, but we have the privilege
02:51
that we depend on, depends on us.
02:56
Do you sense a confidence that you can go there and do the job?
02:59
Yeah, absolutely, no doubt.
03:02
Callum Hudson-Odoi obviously on a Chelsea loan, how ironic would it be, and it has nothing
03:07
to do with you before your time that you left, how ironic would it be if he was a factor
03:12
in you not making it into the Champions League?
03:17
Yeah, in this moment it's Forest player, so he's playing for them, and I have no doubt
03:23
that he's going to try his best with his team, but we need to be focused on our squad,
03:31
our players and our game.
03:34
Final one from me, looking forward to the dreaded transfer window, which starts a little bit
03:40
earlier this season.
03:43
Some reports suggest Enzo Fernandes has been in Madrid looking at houses, I know he hasn't
03:47
because he's been here, but how important is he to Chelsea and how important is he that
03:52
we keep him here?
03:53
Is there a contract that suggests where Madrid might be interested?
03:57
Yeah, Enzo is a main player for us, he's one of the captain, he's one of the leaders.
04:03
This season has been very, very good, he can be even better next season, starting from the first day.
04:09
So nothing to say about speculation, he's focused on us, and this is the most important thing.
04:18
He's staying, right?
04:19
Yes.
04:20
May, may.
04:22
So you've got a busy few days coming up, do you feel any pressure?
04:35
I'm sure you're not staying up late at night thinking about how to get that Champions League spot, or are you?
04:37
Any pressure?
04:39
When you join Chelsea you feel the pressure since day one.
04:42
You don't need to play this kind of game to feel more pressure or less pressure.
04:47
I feel pressure since I joined the club, because it's a club that you need to win games.
04:54
We won many games this season, but probably we need one more, the most important one.
05:02
And how do you go about, you've got an important game this weekend and a few days later as well, the Conference League final.
05:07
How do you go about deciding maybe rotating key players for both matches?
05:13
Now the focus is Sunday game, that is the next one is the most important one.
05:19
And then after that we can be focused on Wednesday game.
05:23
For sure, I said already the other day, we don't have time enough to recover the energy.
05:30
So for sure we need to rotate and we need to change things.
05:34
And the reason why is because from Sunday to Wednesday there is no time enough to recover the energy.
05:43
Or at least if we were both in the same situation, us and Betis, it was quite different.
05:49
But because they play today, so they have two days more.
05:55
So we need to make some changes.
05:58
What's the atmosphere been like this week with the players? Are they feeling any pressure?
06:04
How are you seeing the players?
06:06
No, they are, to be honest, I can see them exactly in the same way they were almost all season.
06:13
They know that they are aware that this is the game, it's an important game, it's the last one,
06:19
it's the most important one because if we are able to finish well, it's a good thing for players, for fans,
06:25
for club, for us as a coaching staff, for everyone.
06:28
Do you find a chance to give any motivational words to the players,
06:32
to get them with that mental strength to prepare them for both matches?
06:36
No, I think we need to prepare them for the next one, not for both.
06:41
I think we need to prepare them for the next one.
06:44
In terms of motivation, we also try almost every game to give them some extra motivation
06:50
because it's something that is part of the game.
06:55
Thanks, Mimi.
06:57
John?
06:58
Over the last few months there has been a massive difference between your home form and your away form.
07:04
Can you try and explain why there has been such a difference?
07:09
It's something for sure that probably during the summer or during the short break we have,
07:20
it's something that we have to analyse.
07:23
I also said many times that I like to analyse game by game.
07:28
I think we played some games away where we didn't deserve to lose or even the draw,
07:34
I don't know, Palace away I think we were much, much better and we deserved to win the game.
07:39
But for sure if we struggle away there is a reason why and we're going to use the break to understand the reason why.
07:48
On the other side at home we won almost all the games,
07:52
so also there is a good part, not only the bad part.
07:58
Is there a mental issue there, do you think?
08:01
I don't think so, I don't think so.
08:05
I don't think it's a mental problem, but for sure there is something that we need to improve, no doubt.
08:10
Because on Sunday the attitude and mentally they've got to be absolutely spot on,
08:15
so it's going to be pretty lively in the City game.
08:18
Yeah, no doubt.
08:19
But even the last game away, I think the last game was Newcastle away.
08:23
I think they showed resilience, they showed effort.
08:26
Overall I think we didn't deserve to lose that game, even with ten players.
08:32
But at the end we lost the game.
08:35
So I don't think it's mental, to be honest.
08:39
Just a question on the England squad you were asked at 10 o'clock this morning.
08:43
Is there a concern from you for your players who can be picked in that squad,
08:47
given you've got the Club World Cup coming up?
08:49
Have you spoken to anybody with Thomas Tuchel just to see how he plans to use your players there?
08:55
I didn't speak with one of them.
09:00
The only thing I can say, and I've said already many times,
09:03
that as much as the players we have in the international team,
09:08
we are happy because that is something good, first of all for the players,
09:11
because they represent the country and it's nice, and for the club also.
09:16
But I think the last game was on the 10th, but obviously you're in the game for the 15th,
09:20
around that kind of time.
09:22
So will you be asking maybe that they can be released early?
09:26
From the 10th to 15th we have five days.
09:30
The problem is that we have a game Sunday and Wednesday,
09:33
European competition final.
09:35
No-one is scared about that.
09:37
But no-one cares about player welfare.
09:58
How do you manage that?
10:01
Nothing.
10:02
If they're going to be tired, they're not going to play.
10:04
How do you manage that?
10:06
It's simply like that.
10:07
But I don't think there is many attention about player selfie or these kind of things,
10:12
otherwise it's not normal the amount of games that they played.
10:17
Simon.
10:18
So was it the case that the club could even remotely talk to international coaches
10:25
and say would you mind leaving them out on this occasion?
10:28
Was it something you thought we were doing?
10:31
No, from my point of view.
10:36
It's obviously going to be an added challenge for these players to sort of think that they've
10:43
got to play with these games in a short period of time.
10:46
Yeah, but that's why I said that for me it's not normal and it's not correct.
10:51
And I can understand that people think, yeah, but they earn much money, lots of money.
10:56
But it's not about money, it's about health, it's about to protect the players.
11:02
And my feeling is because of the amount of games that they played, I don't think they pay attention on that.
11:10
And I know you've just focused on these two games and this season, but is there any concern for the start of next season
11:19
that all your players should play this amount of football before the next season's even started?
11:26
I'm not thinking about the next season, I'm thinking about the next two games.
11:30
But for sure there is a chance where we have players that because of the amount of the games
11:36
they can get injured or they can be tired and then we see how we need to behave.
11:45
Rob.
11:46
Going back to Sunday, is the biggest risk to your team that Forest might feel like they've got nothing to lose,
11:55
given that they've already overachieved so much this season?
11:59
The pressure could be off them a little bit, whereas for Chelsea, everything hinged on them.
12:06
What was expected at the start of the season?
12:10
At this stage of the season I think the pressure is for all the clubs that we are involved.
12:14
I think it's also for them.
12:18
If they don't feel the pressure, it's not something that I'm worried about.
12:24
I'm just worried about our team, how we can win the game, no more than that.
12:29
Do you fear that the expectation weighs that bit more heavily on Chelsea's players than it would on Forest?
12:36
Probably, yes.
12:39
OK, thank you.
12:42
Cameras off, please.
12:46
What was the question?
12:49
Thanks David.
12:50
There was a question.
12:51
We need some questions at the moment.
12:53
plötzlich was on ailoqu ranges from the top to the top.
12:55
We need some questions.
12:56
We need some questions at the top.
12:57
This is really good for us to learn.
12:58
I'm just wondering.
12:59
I'm just wondering if I don't know if we want to get started.
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