Chelsea's Manager Enzo Maresca Labels Pre-Match Time as His 'Toughest 48 Hours' at the Club

Chelsea tactician Enzo Maresca revealed that the preparation to Saturday's victory against Everton constituted "the toughest 48 hours" since his arrival with the London club.

The 44-year-old delivered a rather mysterious comment in his post-match interview even after earning a 2-0 win at home courtesy of finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points lifted Chelsea back into the Premier League's top four, potentially lightening the atmosphere following a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the side's drought without a win to four fixtures.

However, when questioned about the full-back's contribution and general display, Maresca surprisingly disclosed his annoyance over the previous 48-hour period at the club.

"How the lads want to develop has been fantastic and this is the reason why I commend them - because with numerous challenges, they are doing very well after a difficult week," he commented.

"Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because several people didn't support us."

Pressed on the specifics, the ex- Leicester City manager continued: "Most difficult 48 hours since I came to the club because people failed to back me and the team."

When asked if he meant people internally at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. Overall," before clarifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are very pleased with the fans."

Injury & Suspension Woes

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's persistent fitness and suspension issues, noting they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as being deprived of key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and striker Liam Delap to two significant injuries.

"I truly praise the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, five of them minus Moises Caicedo, eleven of them without Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them minus Liam Delap," he said.

"And this squad, regardless of who is playing, they are performing exceptionally. Today was five games in 12 days so undoubtedly when you see Cole Palmer available, we said many times that he's our best player but we play almost all season without our top player.

"We play 5 games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so delighted for the players and it's something that I would want people externally to acknowledge because the work from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's success over Everton strengthened their position in 4th place in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup last-eight tie at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come next week.

Speculation Over Maresca's Remark

It was unclear what exactly caused Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the worst of his tenure as Chelsea head coach.

In that window, the coach had traveled back with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, held a session at Cobham, faced a pre-game news conference where he seemed at ease, and engineered a win over an in-form Everton team.

It was hard to discern whether any specific press stories had irked him, if social media comments played a role, or if it was something deeper from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca only sought to deny that it was an matter related to the club's supporters, some of whom have still have yet to fully embrace him since his arrival from Leicester in July last year.