Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on injuries, facing Manchester United and their European hopes as they look to secure a top 5 finish
Cobham, London, UK
Cobham, London, UK
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00:00Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good over there, right, good morning,
00:27we will follow the usual format today with two sections, a live section and an embargo section for 10.30 this evening.
00:36We will begin with James Fundra and Sky Sports News.
00:40Good morning Enzo, I wonder if from an injury perspective, is Christopher Mpunku back and available to play?
00:46No, Christopher is still out.
00:48Rhys James, is he OK? We didn't see him at training on Tuesday.
00:52Yes, now he's OK. He was ill, so he was out for Tuesday session. Yesterday he had the session with us.
01:02Limited options from an attacking perspective this weekend.
01:05James Sancho, unable to play, clearly Nicolas Jackson won't be there either.
01:09Have you felt the need to have serious conversations with him this week after what happened on Sunday?
01:14With Nico. No, yeah, I think Nico is intelligent enough to recognise that there has been an error,
01:24there has been a mistake and it's all about this.
01:28Two wins to secure Champions League football next season. I'm sure at the start of this season you would have taken that equation going into the final two matches?
01:37Yeah, absolutely. I think at the beginning of the season we were, as you said, if someone said to us that we need to win the last two games to reach the Champions League spot,
01:51probably we were happy. I think overall during the season we had moments, for instance the first five, six months, where we were second, third, so even better.
02:03And now we are there and we're going to try to finish well.
02:07Considering you were second and third as late on as December, would there be disappointment if you weren't able to finish in the top five?
02:16No, yeah, because we have been there all season and we are now there, for sure can be disappointment.
02:25And have there been conversations with the club internally about what that would mean for you and the club if you weren't in the Champions League next season?
02:33We didn't speak about that, to be honest. We didn't have a conversation about if we are Champions League or if we are not Champions League.
02:42No problem.
02:44Soraya?
02:45Morning. You said previously against Lobox and back five it's more difficult to attack quickly because there's less space.
02:51You have my United Knicks. What makes them so difficult to play against and what do you think needs to change in your team
02:57to have a better record against these types of styles to play?
03:00No, I think if you go back, probably we won almost all the game against Loblox and back five.
03:12The only difference is that when we face these kind of teams, probably we didn't attack quickly in the way people like.
03:23But if you go back, I don't know, West Ham, Wolves, Leicester, more teams that we face with the line of five,
03:33I think our results have been good. It's just a matter to play, to learn, to play a different game.
03:41You said you don't like your players to say, I'm just a defender, I'm just a midfielder.
03:46They need to be an overall football player and be adaptable.
03:48I want to speak about Endo Fernandes. Over his entire time at Chelsea, stats-wise,
03:52in this season he's receiving the ball less overall, but in more key areas, the final third.
03:57You've been full of praise for him, but how have you actually worked on that?
04:01Is it more off the pitch work or is it on the pitch work?
04:04It's both. At the beginning, because he was playing in one way all his life,
04:10previously with Benfica in Argentina, with us it's more understanding where he has to stay.
04:17And where he has to arrive when we are attacking.
04:20And I think he scores goals, but also in terms of assists, he has important numbers.
04:27I don't have any doubt that starting next season from the first game,
04:34he can improve his numbers even more.
04:37You just mentioned it there in response to Nico's red card, but when we spoke earlier in the season,
04:42you said you don't feel the need to talk about discipline with players,
04:44you know how to expect it to them.
04:46Last season you weren't here, but Chelsea had the most yellow card and Cardo ball.
04:50This season it's the same situation.
04:52No other top five club is even in the top ten of that.
04:55Is it not a concern for you at all, it's just something that will improve as you're with the squad longer?
04:59Or do you feel like at some point you're going to have to have discipline by it?
05:05I think against Newcastle was our first red card of the season.
05:11You had a lot of yards.
05:13Yeah, but I don't know, to be honest.
05:16Yeah, I don't know.
05:17It's probably also the way we try to be, I don't know, intense, aggressive.
05:21I don't know, to be honest.
05:22It's a good question that probably we need to analyse during the summer when we have some day off
05:27and to see if there is something that we can do better.
05:32John.
05:33Hi Anto, how are you?
05:35Have you been surprised by Manchester United this season?
05:38Obviously their league form has been really poor.
05:40They've lost 17 games at six feet from the table.
05:44What have you made with it?
05:50To be honest, I'm focused here.
05:54It's already difficult to judge when you are inside, imagine when you are not there.
06:00It's very difficult to understand the reason why.
06:02The only thing I can say is that we try here to be focused on us,
06:06to try to do our best here.
06:08And then it's, I don't know, it's something that probably they have to look at.
06:14But is it a good time to play them now?
06:16Because clearly that full focus is not on this game, it's on Europa League.
06:21In my personal opinion, it's not about if it's a good time to face them or not, it's just about us.
06:31I think even if we had a defeat in the last game against Newcastle,
06:37I think the team is in a good moment, it's in a good run.
06:41The last ten Premier League games, I think we had 20 points.
06:45The average is two points for a game.
06:47It's a good average to reach the Champions League spot.
06:50So we have to be focused on us and try to do our best to win Friday night.
06:56You've spoken about Nicholas Jackson, obviously you haven't got him tomorrow.
07:00What's your preferred option to replace him?
07:02Is it Neto, George, Cole Palmer? What's your preference?
07:06We are working on that. These are the options that we have. We don't have many options.
07:11Unfortunately, Marguio is still injured.
07:15He started to train with us, but he's not ready to play from the start.
07:18And we are working on different options for Friday night.
07:22So the whole league season has come to these last two league games.
07:25Do you enjoy that? Do you enjoy the pressure of that?
07:29Yeah, absolutely. I enjoy it since day one.
07:33Knowing that there have been some moments that we were more happy, less happy.
07:38But it's my job, it's our job.
07:42Ian?
07:43Hi Enzo, how are you?
07:46Good.
07:47Excellent.
07:48Looking at your season, going up towards Christmas when we were all saying
07:53that you were challenging for the title, you insisted that Chelsea weren't.
07:57You proved right on that.
07:59You also then asked about finishing in the Champions League.
08:02You said that wasn't what was set out for you at the beginning of the season.
08:06What's changed in the last six months?
08:10Since day one, I said that the target that the club gave to me was
08:17in two years we want to play in the Champions League.
08:20OK? Since day one.
08:22But when you arrive to March and you have been all season, top four, top five,
08:28it's naturally that the target is to finish the Champions League.
08:31So the reason why it changed from the beginning is because we arrived to March,
08:36international break, I still remember, that we were there all season.
08:39So it's normal that then the target became to finish top four, top five.
08:44So what changed is that because we have been there all season,
08:48the target automatically became to finish top four, top five.
08:51So I don't want to put words in your mouth, but basically you've overachieved this season, right?
08:57I said many times already that I think we had a good season that can become a very good season
09:03if we are able to finish top five and also if we are able to win the Conference League.
09:09For that to happen, both things have to happen.
09:12You want to finish top five and win a trophy as well,
09:14because trophies are what Chelsea have been built on in the last 20 years.
09:19Yeah, but not in the last two years. It's different.
09:23In the last two years, 12 and 6. This is not a title.
09:29So it's not about 10 years ago, 15 years ago.
09:33Just one more small one. We've seen this week an injury to Tai Oongi,
09:37not even Forrest, because of the fact that now they've put the flag up quickly
09:42and they wait until the end of the moment of play.
09:45Do you think because of what we've seen this week there should be a rule change
09:48and put more on and we should go back to it?
09:50If a linesman is confident about an offside raising the flag quickly,
09:53because obviously players could get hurt.
09:55Sometimes from outside it looks quite clear.
09:58For instance, sometimes you can see that it's clear offside,
10:01but they wait and then they raise the flag.
10:05But it's not the first time, unfortunately, for the player.
10:09It's been a bad moment and hopefully all the best to him.
10:13This is the most important thing in this selfie.
10:16David?
10:18You said no Jackson, no Nkunku, no Gouir,
10:22so you have to pick a false nine, let's call it.
10:25How does the attack change when you have a false nine as you?
10:30Depends a little bit on the game plan.
10:33Against the line of five, I prefer a real nine,
10:36because you need to attack him behind and you need the threat.
10:39Unfortunately, we don't have, so we need to find a different solution.
10:42I like fake nine when we face line of four,
10:46because probably you can link a little bit more,
10:48but against line of five you need people running behind.
10:51But it's where it is and we need to find some different solution.
10:55I'm pretty sure there's a pressure on you to finish top five
10:58and I'm pretty sure there's a pressure on players to achieve that goal.
11:01It's for all of us, I think it's for the club,
11:05because we said since day one that we have the duty to bring this club
11:11where this club has to be, that is top four, top five this season,
11:15the Champions League, and the players they are aware,
11:18the coaching staff we are aware, the club is aware,
11:20and hopefully we can finish the season there.
11:24Rob?
11:25Hi, and going back to Jackson, it's not the first time that he's had issues
11:30with the discipline, he's got five yellow cards last season
11:34and they're almost all for dissent or, you know, sorry,
11:40are you confident that he's still young enough
11:43that that's something that can be fixed in his temperament
11:46or is it something that could affect the ceiling on how he can do it?
11:52No, for me it's not about, in this case it's not about the age,
11:55because no matter the age you have, if you make a mistake,
11:59and then it's OK, all of us we make a mistake,
12:02but if you make the same mistake again, probably it's not the best thing.
12:06I think I said, I think it's the first red card this season for us,
12:11unfortunately it's been for Nico,
12:13and then in terms of yellow cards, probably it's something serious,
12:18it's something that during the summer,
12:21because now we have no time during the summer,
12:23we need to sit and review things
12:25and to see the reason why of this yellow card,
12:28the amount of them that we can avoid
12:30and try to improve for next season.
12:33Do you think he does have in the chair of being the temperament
12:35that Chelsea's might try to affect the number of years?
12:39Yeah, I think so, I think so.
12:41So now it's normal that after the red card the light is on Nico,
12:50but overall it's something that is not about Newcastle
12:56or the first game of the season,
12:57it's something that if you can avoid, it's good to avoid.
13:00And we will finish this section with Liam.
13:03You had to change things around after the red card against Newcastle,
13:09obviously you had to play mid-11 in the last two games rather than ten,
13:13but were there things from that second half the way you were tactically,
13:16the way things you were able to do before you could take into those games?
13:21Yeah, I think second half against Newcastle we were even more brave.
13:25We were playing three defenders, three midfielders, three strikers.
13:30So the team was quite brave, but I think the team has always been brave.
13:37Sometimes because of the other teams, sometimes you can do that, sometimes not.
13:42But overall I think the team has been brave since we started.
13:45I think the spirit that we show in second half, the togetherness,
13:49the effort of the players has been fantastic
13:52and it's something that for sure 100% we need in the next two games.
13:55OK, thank you. Cameras off please.