Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on Ruben Amorim's appointment, his relationship with Ruud Van Nistelrooy and their recent form ahead of their Premier League clash with Manchester United
Cobham, London, UK
Cobham, London, UK
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00:30Welcome to our press conference ahead of Sunday's game against Manchester United.
00:34We've got three sections today, we're going to start with the broadcast and we'll begin with Jeremy Langdon.
00:40Enzo, hello. Manchester United have just made a massive announcement,
00:45Rumin Amirim is their new manager, he's only 39, he's never managed outside Portugal, what do you think?
00:52No, first of all, all the best to him, and again, if the people in charge,
00:58they took that decision, it's because they think it's the correct one,
01:01so all the best to him and all the best to Man United.
01:05And your old friend Ruud van Nistelrooy is in interim charge for this weekend's game,
01:11have you spoken to him and do you think that Chelsea can capitalise on all the upheaval
01:15currently going on at United?
01:17I didn't speak with Ruud, I will give him a big hug on Sunday and before the game,
01:23and yeah, we expected a tough game.
01:28What are your memories of playing with him?
01:31First of all, fantastic guy, humble, very professional. Unfortunately, I shared with him
01:39a time when he was already finished in terms of playing, but even with that you can see
01:46how good he was. But first of all, the best thing is that we had a very good
01:52group of human beings in that time with Malaga, so it's always nice to remember that kind of moment.
02:01Chelsea haven't won an Old Trafford in the league in over a decade since 2013,
02:06is this a good time to be playing them do you think?
02:09We didn't win them since 2013? Hopefully it's a good time, I hope so.
02:14That shows how difficult is that stadium, and not only for us, for every club,
02:19and we're going to try to do our best and try to win the game.
02:23Can you tell us about any team news? Obviously,
02:25Rhys James is hoping to start a third Premier League game,
02:28is he okay? Wesley Fofana, you were saying he was playing in pain, is he okay to start this one?
02:33They are all available, unless Jadon, that he has been ill in the last days.
02:39You made 11 changes in the Carabao Cup,
02:43is it true to say that you were willing to sacrifice the Carabao Cup to win at Old Trafford?
02:48No, absolutely, we prepared the game to win in the last game against Newcastle, Carabao,
02:54unfortunately we lost, but we prepare every game to try to win, and the reason why we
03:00make changes, I said many times, it's not because there is A team or B team, we are all one team,
03:07the only reason is because they all deserve to play, some of them they are playing in the
03:11Premier League game, some of them in the Conference or Carabao, but in one game,
03:16they can change, the ones that are playing in Carabao, in the Conference, they can play
03:20in the Premier League game and in the other side, so I said already 2-3 times that for me,
03:27we have 24-25 outfield players, and there is only one team, only one squad,
03:32and what we try to do is to share minutes with all of them.
03:36And what would you say about Enzo Fernandes at the moment,
03:38you seem to show your frustration with him during that game,
03:42obviously he's not starting for you in the Premier League, do you still believe in Enzo?
03:46I show frustration with Enzo?
03:48I think so, when he misplaced a pass.
03:51Poor, I show frustration with all of them, so don't look only at Enzo, I still trust Enzo,
04:00there is not any reason in the world that I can lose confidence on him, the reason why he's not
04:06playing in the Premier League is because in this moment I take different decisions,
04:12but my confidence is 100% with Enzo.
04:18Cole Palmer, you kept him back in midweek, you didn't put him on the field,
04:23he scored four times against United last season, are you expecting a big performance from him?
04:30I hope so, he's going to play, I guess he's going to play,
04:36but Cole is doing every time very good. I said at the beginning of the season,
04:41if we expect from him 20 goals again and 20 assists again, probably it's wrong,
04:46because we don't need to put all the pressure on his shoulder, he has to enjoy football,
04:52and if he enjoys it, for sure he's going to score and for sure he's going to assist his teammates.
04:59Cole is playing well not only when he scores goals, he's playing well even when he doesn't
05:03score, because he allows the rest to play in the right way.
05:09We've seen two right backs, Rhys and Gusto, this season,
05:12play more, a little bit on the left, Gusto a little bit more,
05:15he's been getting into more attacking positions, sometimes even as a 10,
05:18taking a shot outside of the box, what's your reasoning and thoughts of him playing this role
05:23over a natural left back and can we expect to see him stay in that role now Rhys is back?
05:28Yeah, the reason why it's all, first of all because we think that with Malo there,
05:35playing as a 10, we can create or cause problems to the opponent, and for sure he's doing fantastic.
05:43I said in the last press conference, Malo is helping us a lot in terms of process,
05:48because he's playing as an ultimate midfielder, he's playing in the pocket, he's playing,
05:51I think for some moment, like a central defender, so it's likely to be like Renato,
05:57some of them that they are playing in different positions,
05:59but for sure Malo is doing well and he's going to continue in that way.
06:05Another player that played in a different position,
06:07Doosby Hall against Newcastle was on the right wing,
06:09was this something that in your head you wanted to implement on the pitch and wanted to try out,
06:13or was it because you wanted to sort of rest Noni and Sancho was sick, will we see him there?
06:18No, no, no, yeah, the idea was to try also with the Keenan,
06:23we play in different shape against Newcastle,
06:26just to try to control a little bit more the game, don't make basketball game,
06:30that I think for 20, 25 minutes until their goal, the plan was there,
06:35then we conceded the goal in 10 minutes, we lost the game, but could be an idea for the future.
06:42And when it comes to loan players, how often do you manage to keep up with them?
06:46Because Andre Santos has been phenomenal, he's played eight games, five goals,
06:51he's won the most duels in the league, how much can you actually consider him?
06:54Because he's a wonderful 8-8 box and he kind of fits the profile of
06:58what you were picking on midfield.
06:59Yeah, Andre Santos is just show what we said already many times,
07:03that probably for some players it's better that they go,
07:06they prove themselves and they can come back, so it's what Andre Santos is doing.
07:11We see now it's too early, but if continuing in the way that he's playing,
07:15could be an option for us.
07:17Rob.
07:18Hi Enzo, it would have seemed quite hard to believe when Enzo Fernandes,
07:23when the club broke the British transfer record to Brinkman,
07:26that within a couple of years he wouldn't be a first-choice starter.
07:32Is it fair to say that he's not indispensable now to your plans,
07:36in the way that, say, Parma or Jackson or Caicedo are?
07:41I'd like to say that we have, as I said, we don't have A team or B team.
07:49I'd also like to say that there are players that they are fantastic players,
07:59but for me we don't have indispensable.
08:05Exactly, because if Cole for any reason is not playing, he's playing Joao.
08:15And if Nico is not going to play for any reason, he's playing Cristo.
08:19So there is not the one that we cannot change them,
08:24but the reason why we change players is because we think that all of them are good.
08:30As I said, for sure some of them are better than the rest,
08:34but that means that they are always the ones that they are going to play.
08:39In this moment, I know that you are looking for some different reason for Enzo,
08:48but for Enzo it's very simple.
08:50He's not playing in this moment.
08:51We have so many games.
08:52He's going to play for sure in the future.
08:54Now he's not playing.
08:56That means that he's not going to play tomorrow in two days.
08:59And that means that Romeo and Moye, they are always going to play,
09:03because in the moment that some of them drop, probably we can change.
09:07What do Jose and Davide as a partnership bring the team that Fernandez doesn't?
09:16First of all, it's a matter of balance.
09:18I think in this moment, Romeo and Moye, they give us also physicality, strength in the middle.
09:27And this is the reason why we found the option Malo in the pocket.
09:35Otherwise, when we play with Enzo, it has to be Enzo and one between Moye and Romeo.
09:40And when Enzo moves, probably we struggle a little bit in the middle in terms of physicality.
09:45That is something that in this moment, Moye and Romeo, they give us.
09:50But that means that in one game, we cannot play with Joao and Kool in the pocket.
09:55Depends on the game.
09:56Probably soon, we're going to see Joao and Kool playing together in the pocket with a striker.
10:02But it's always the game that requires a little bit different plan.
10:10A lot of Chelsea's goals this season have come from slightly quicker attacks,
10:15but you've spoken several times about you don't want the team to get involved
10:20in basketball games and give up quick attacks as well.
10:23How do you go about finding that balance?
10:25You mean the goal we score?
10:28A lot of the goals Chelsea score...
10:29Ah, we score, yeah.
10:30You've said you don't want to give up quick attacks to the other team as well.
10:34So how do you find that balance between playing slow but also trying to play fast at times?
10:40No, for me, it's not play slow or play fast.
10:46If you think Brighton game, we prepared the game,
10:49tried to attack quick because the space was in behind.
10:52But we cannot plan the same game against Nottingham Forest
10:54when they sit back and they are in their side.
10:57So it depends on the game.
10:59For sure, we are players in the wide area or in front that they can attack quick, for sure.
11:05But I said many times the problem, when you attack quick,
11:09then they're going to attack quick and then become like Newcastle, up and down, up and down.
11:14That for a physical team, physically strong, it's much better for them than for us.
11:21But probably the reason why we scored many goals in the second half,
11:25happened the same last year when I was at Leicester,
11:27is because probably the first half, because we touch, touch, touch, touch,
11:32and they run, run and run.
11:34Probably they cannot maintain that for 95 minutes.
11:36So second half, the last half an hour, they start to drop.
11:41And this is the moment that we start to create more chances and score goals.
11:44So it depends a little bit on the plan of the game.
11:48Roman?
11:49Hi, Enzo.
11:51In the last six games, no clean sheets,
11:54and five of those have seen goals scored in the six-yard box.
11:58So again, it's Gein, Panay Znaikos, Curtis Jones in the six-yard box,
12:03Isaac's goal in the six-yard box, Disass' in the six-yard box.
12:07Is it one of many problems? Does this continue?
12:12No, from the last six, you said?
12:15Yeah.
12:20How many we won from the last six?
12:22No, because if we concede one and we score two, I'm happy.
12:25The problem is, it depends.
12:26No, I said many times that we have, seriously,
12:31we have many, many things that we need to improve.
12:34We need to improve.
12:35But I said the way we attack, but also the way we defend.
12:39For sure, it's something that we need to improve.
12:42But because there are so many things that we need to improve and we need to do,
12:46you cannot focus on all of them.
12:48So you start with the priority.
12:49OK, go with this, and then with this, and then with this.
12:52And then, for sure, it's something that we need to consider
12:55and we need to improve.
13:00I want to talk about Nicos Jackson
13:02and how he has developed into a reliable striker.
13:06How happy are you with his progress?
13:07Oh, yeah, very happy.
13:08Very happy, first of all,
13:10because Nico is helping us not only in terms of numbers, score and assist.
13:15It's also helping us in terms of the way we want to play,
13:18the way he's linked with his teammates.
13:21And he's helping us a lot in the process.
13:23Every time he drops, he gives us an extra man.
13:28Against Newcastle, you saw he was dropping and creating many, many problems.
13:33When he attacks him behind, he's quick and he can score goals.
13:37So we are very happy.
13:38And since we started, we are trying to work with him in different areas.
13:42And one of the areas is when he drops.
13:45And when I drop, what do I have to do?
13:47Because sometimes you say, yeah, you have to drop.
13:49But then what happens?
13:50So we are trying to improve Nicolas
13:54and trying to work on him since we started.
13:57And how happy are you with the progress in general of the team?
14:03No, very happy.
14:04Very happy because the way we want to play on the ball and off the ball,
14:10I think it's quite clear.
14:12Every game is there.
14:13Sometimes, as I said, sometimes we do the things good and sometimes not.
14:17But it's normal.
14:18But in terms of process, I said that we are ahead of my expectation
14:23after, I think, four months, almost four months.
14:28Fortunately, also the results, more or less, they are OK.
14:31So hopefully we can continue on that.
14:34Cameras off, please.