Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on his side’s recent poor form and Sunday’s West London Derby with Fulham
Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Stamford Bridge, London, UK
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00:00Enzo, when Palmers scored against Fulham in December, it was his 26th goal of the calendar year 2024.
00:10What advice are you giving him at the moment? Has he used for a tougher spell maybe that he's not used to in terms of getting back to those kinds of moves?
00:20Yeah, probably. It's the first moment for Cole where he's a little bit of a struggle in general. The only thing he has to...
00:30Because he's so good, he has to continue working hard because for sure very soon he's going to start scoring goals for us.
00:40They just said to me that the first 20 Premier League games he scored, I think, 14 goals.
00:48So to score 14 goals in 20 games is a huge number, fantastic number.
00:53Now it's a moment for him where he struggled, but he has to continue because for sure he's going to score goals very soon.
01:00Do you think the reasons are for some of his struggles recently? Are the opposition paying more close attention?
01:06Is he just not enjoying it at the moment?
01:08No, I think there are different reasons why. For sure a moment where you struggle is part of their career, their process, their season.
01:22Last year he had a fantastic season. This season we said many times that the way the team approaches him is in a different way.
01:30Most of the time he's marking man to man. That is more difficult for any player in the world.
01:35But even with that, he scored 14 goals in 20 games, the first 20 games.
01:40So for me it's just a matter of a bad moment and in the moment that he's able to score a goal is probably change again.
01:49I saw Romeo Lavia at training this week. When he's played, he's been impressive this season, maybe not played enough with the injuries.
01:58Do you think this could be him back firstly for the Fulham game and maybe the kickstart a good solid end of the season?
02:05And how important is he for your team?
02:07Romeo is back. He's training with us and he can be available for Sunday. With him we're going to try the same thing that we are trying with Riz.
02:16I would like to play Riz every three days, but we are trying to manage him, to help him.
02:23And as I said, exactly the same thing we are going to try to do with Romeo because he's for us an important player.
02:32And just a final one for me on Mark Kukurea. You've mentioned him already. He's getting into advanced positions, centrally goal scoring positions.
02:43How pleased have you been with his return this season?
02:48He's doing fantastic. He scores goals, but not only goals. He's helping the team to play in the way we want to play.
02:57When we need to defend, he's very aggressive off the ball. And I said, yeah, if Kukurea is the one that is scoring more goals for us in this moment,
03:07we need to be worried. And hopefully we can have our offensive players that they can start to score goals very soon.
03:16Nizó?
03:17Nizó, you arrested Caicedo and Enzo Fernández today. Do you think you need maybe one more midfielder if Lavia can't prove his fitness in the long term,
03:26maybe next season? And is André Santos the guy?
03:30Yeah, we arrested Enzo, we arrested Moy, we arrested Levi, we arrested Trev, we arrested Noni, Pedro, we arrested many players.
03:40That's why I said that for sure we are not happy about the result, the conference league result.
03:45But at the same time, we try to manage it will be the first result and to rotate players.
03:51And then second, yeah, now we know that André is doing well, but in this moment we are just focused about how we finish this season.
04:00And then when we finish the season, we want to start to think about next season.
04:05I know you won't have heard Rhys James' interview yet, but he was very strong.
04:20Do you think is that type of leadership what's needed, someone just telling that how it is, Norbal just being brutally honest?
04:28Is that what's needed?
04:29Absolutely, absolutely, yes. He's in charge of that, he's one of the captain.
04:34And as I said before, I think probably he was in part, he was right in terms of because of the first result,
04:45we tried to manage in the wrong way and probably he's right in what he said.
04:51He sort of takes inside the change room, but is he like that in the just being honest with everyone?
04:57No, exactly. If you remember at the beginning of the season, I complained a little bit with him in terms of leadership,
05:04but my target was just this one, you know, to try to get more from him.
05:11And now he's doing well also in terms of leadership.
05:14Jack?
05:15Have you got any concern that playing Cole and Niko and players like that tonight and not getting the result could have an impact on Sunday?
05:24Have you got any concerns with that at all, sending them out again and having been involved tonight?
05:28No, no doubt that using them tonight is to build a little bit the physical condition,
05:37but also to build mentally a little bit because they struggle to score in this moment.
05:43So to give them 45 minutes, one hour, it's also a chance to see if they can score and they can go again.
05:49And when they don't score, for sure I'm worried.
05:55Go on, Malik.
05:57You said it's a worry if you're relying on Kukurea for your goals between now and the end of the season.
06:03Do you think you can achieve what you want to achieve over the next six weeks if Cole and Niko aren't backing the goals?
06:10No.
06:11Simple as that?
06:12Yeah.
06:13So how confident are you that they will get back?
06:16No, confident because they score goals. They have scored goals.
06:19It's just a moment that they need to turn a little bit that moment.
06:23But I said before, Cole scored 14 goals in 20 Premier League games.
06:27So he scored goals. Niko was the same before the injury.
06:29Now, unfortunately, Niko was out two months.
06:31So probably physicality needs a little bit more.
06:33And this is the same for Cole.
06:37Peter.
06:38Hi, Enzo. Just to go back to the leadership point with Reece.
06:45I think one of the criticisms of Chelsea is that because the team is so young, they don't have those characters.
06:49I mean, we saw Virgil van Dijk sign a new contract this week.
06:53Do you think you still need that kind of character within the group?
06:57I mean, even thinking back to Ipswich, even a moment tonight where even in games you see the teams struggle a little bit before recovery?
07:05For sure you need that, 100%.
07:07Now, if you don't have, you need to build also a leadership.
07:11And this is the reason why I said at the beginning I was trying to complain a little bit about Reece because I want more from him.
07:20And he's doing more.
07:21So when you don't have a leader, at least you have to try to build some leader.
07:28And in this moment, Reece is doing well.
07:31We have two, three more players that they are making the effort to help the rest.
07:36But for sure, when you have a real leader, it's much better to manage different problems during the season.
07:45So very much focusing on building a leader internally rather than looking outside for the team.
07:50Yeah.
07:51In this moment, during the season, we didn't have time to go forward.
07:55So in this moment, we tried the ones that we have, OK, which one they can become a leader or they can improve.
08:04Because at the end, if you are not a leader, you cannot become suddenly a leader, but you can improve a little bit.
08:11It's what we are trying to do with some of them.
08:13We'll do three more questions.
08:15Simon, Ben and Rob.
08:17Hi again Enzo.
08:18Not for the first time, we've seen co-owner, sporting directors come down the tunnel shortly after the game.
08:25Do you sort of feel that the support that you're getting from above is as unwavering as it has been all season?
08:33So you said you saw them downstairs?
08:35They came across the pitch to walk down the tunnel.
08:37I assume they came to see you.
08:39But they come downstairs every game.
08:42Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
08:43So do you still feel like the support that you're getting from them is as unwavering as ever?
08:49Yeah, absolutely, yes.
08:51And how reassuring is that when perhaps the fans are sort of saying other things, but you've got the support?
08:58I tried to explain yesterday.
09:02I know.
09:03We cannot change the idea the day after.
09:06I said yesterday, and if I need I say again, in the last two years Chelsea has been zero times top four, top five.
09:12This season we spent all season, almost all season, top four, top five Champions League sport.
09:17We are in a semifinal European competition.
09:22So why now we need to change something?
09:25I think it's I don't have any doubt about what we are doing in the way we are doing.
09:32And for different reasons, we had some bad moment or some setback like tonight during the season for sure.
09:40But this, for me, makes us stronger for the future.
09:44And you feel that from the top as well?
09:46Yeah, yeah, absolutely, yes.
09:48No doubt.
09:50Ben.
09:55Jadon Sancho tonight made it ten assists and he scored a good goal against Ipswich as well.
10:01Have you challenged him between now and the end of the season to kind of fight for his Chelsea future?
10:07Or have you had a conversation with him to stress perhaps that you would like to keep him at the football club?
10:12No, the only thing we said to Jadon, but all our offensive players, is that we need more in terms of numbers, goal and assist.
10:22So Jadon, as you said in the last games, is doing better.
10:26But we need goal and assist from Nico, from Cole, from Noni, from Pedro, from Enzo that is doing well.
10:33From the ones that they arrive in the opposite box.
10:36I think I was just going to say that Fulham, the obligation could kick in because it could secure you above 15.
10:43Is it still a case that it will be an end of season decision on Jadon Sancho?
10:48Yeah, it's the same about Andre Santos. I mean, in this moment, I'm not thinking at all about next year or the players that they can be here next year.
10:58I'm just thinking how we can get the best from them to finish the season very strong.
11:03Rob?
11:04Hi Enzo, just looking at Sunday's game, is this a particularly bad time for you to be playing a London derby away from home?
11:13No, no.
11:14Given what's happened tonight and how your players might be psychologically going into it?
11:18No, no, in this moment there is no bad time.
11:20In this moment there is only a right time to play any game.
11:23We have six Premier League games plus the two semi-final games.
11:27So at the moment we have eight official games to play and all of them is a good time to play.
11:32It's all important. We cannot decide in which moment we are.
11:36Now is the moment to go if we want to reach something.
11:39Do you worry about them, how they might do in the atmosphere of a full and noisy and lively private cottage?
11:44I mean, the away fans even here made it quite difficult tonight.
11:47Guys, I think we are talking about fans.
11:50But when you play at Chelsea, Chelsea is a big club, it's a huge club, one of the biggest clubs in the world.
11:56So it's normal that you have pressure.
11:58In the moment that you decide to sign for Chelsea, you have to think that you are under pressure.
12:02Because it's Chelsea, it's a huge club, it's a big club.
12:04It's the same for the manager, no doubt.
12:06So if we have a game away and we have to be worried about it,
12:11probably we are in the wrong way.
12:13Okay, thanks guys.
12:17Cheers.
12:18Cheers.