Secren Rice, Moises Caiceo, and Enzo Maresca (Photo by Ryan Pieze, Warren Little/Getty Images)
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca spoke at a press conference about this big Premier League game against Arsenal.
The Blues host the Gunners at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, and could end up being a six-pointer in the race for another season.
Chelsea are six points behind Arsenal in the league at the moment, but they are in good shape after beating Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League this week.
Maresca has now given a press conference looking forward to the game, talking about topics such as Moise CAiceO vs Rice Refort’s fitness and Cole Palmer’s Fitness. Read on for the full text of the Conference Session below…
Enzo Maresca Full Press Chrion Transcript
Any other concerns after Tuesday at all?
No. We have Dario Essugo, he joined the lecture this morning. So, good news for both.
Will Estevao Willian make it more difficult to not pick him week in, week out without doing things like he did on Tuesday?
It’s always good when they start and play, they do the right things. It’s good because they gave, this time, I always doubted in the next games. But it is important that when they have the opportunity, they play well, they do the right things. And it’s always a good problem for the manager.
Arsenal Top of the league, top of the Champions League. What is it about Arsenal that you think sets them apart from everyone else this season?
They are certainly protective of the idea. Whatever teams they face, they strive to score, not only score, but even create chances. So it’s a team that defends well. After that they have weapons when they attack. So I think, as you said, at the moment they are top of the Champions League, top of the Premier League. And we will try our best to win the game.
Are moises Caites and Consen Rice The two best MidFields in the Premier League and do you see that Midfield battle as the key midfield on Sunday?
I think the Premier League is full of good players, the best players are Midfielders. As you said, depth, Mencian, Rodri from the city, [Elliot] Anderson from Nottingham Forest, [Bruno] Guimaraes from Newcastle. I think the Premier League is full of two midfielders.
Do you see that midfield battle though as important as it is on Sunday?
It is a big part but it is not the only one. I think it’s 11v11, they keep coming off the bench. The big picture is not just one part of the picture. It’s a great game, the first compared to the second.
You win, you go three points behind Arsenal. There is talk that there are not too many expectations for Chelsea to win the Premier League this season. But if it was to beat Arsenal on Sunday and close that gap, is there a feeling inside that this could actually be something we can achieve this year?
I think it’s too early in any case. If we win, if we don’t win, I think it’s too early. We are still here, the end of November, we still have five, six months to go. I think it is very important when we will be in February, March, where we are, and from there we decide and see if we can achieve something important.
Would you say Arsenal are a big challenge even on a nightly basis?
I think, I said after the game, it’s another great game. We finished one against barcelona. As you said, we won, it was a good feeling. And now we have another. Now if it’s much bigger than the last one, I don’t know. For me, all games are important for sure. Beating Barcelona, ​​or if we manage to beat Arsenal, it’s a great feeling. But finally, three points.
Is the feeling different in training? Is the situation different, the mindset different?
Yes, the mindset and the feelings at the moment are very good because we are doing very well in the Premier League, we are doing very well in the Champions League. I think it’s a good feeling and that we see that we are developing, growing. So this is a very good feeling for us.
It was an amazing situation on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge. How important is it to repeat that on Sunday? Can you use that to your advantage?
Absolutely, yes. We need that place, we need the fans the way they were. And it’s always nice to share that kind of moment at the end of the game with everyone.
It was around this time last year when people said you could win the title, but you played down. Do you think it’s different now? Do you think you are ready as a team to win?
I think it’s definitely different compared to last year. It’s because we spent one more year together. We have gone through times where we can learn from that moment. And then again, it’s early in the morning for me. We are at the end of November, December. So it’s still very early and it’s important to be where we are now in March, April and we’ll see.
Do you see a different mentality in the players this season and a win over Barcelona will surely only help?
Yes, but these players, I understand that we always talk about the end game. But I think these players, they show time and time again that they can beat teams. In the Premier League I think we had some good moments where we were able to beat teams. Then PSG, the World Cup Club. This season, I don’t know, against Liverpool or Barcelona. We are always competing. Sometimes we can win, sometimes we can’t. But it is important that we compete with any team.
So the hard part is maintaining that level of performance that you produced on Tuesday night, trying to find some flexibility given that it’s a small team?
Yes, but I think we are on the right track.
Arsenal are really strong from set pieces. How do you do that?
We try to protect in the best possible way. I think arsenal is not against one team or two teams. Arsenal, they get points on set goals from any team. The last game against Bayern Munich, he scored the first from a corner. It’s not just that they score goals. They get points to fight any team. They have an efficient system that works well and we will try to do everything we can to protect it in the best possible way.
How different is the challenge for you to go about trying to prepare Barcelona now against Arsenal?
A different challenge, as you said. We organized the game against barcelona somehow. We need to plan the game against Arsenal in a different way and see at the end of the game.
Promotion of players with Palmer Back Back?
Yes, everyone is happy. Teammates are happy. We are all happy and the most important thing is that Cole is happy because in the end, a football player, they want to play games and do sessions every day.
How worried about the defense to see Palmer and Estevao link up?
No, they can play together. It depends on which team, it depends a little on the schedule of the game, but they are certainly happy. Fans enjoy watching both of them together. We are also happy, we think that in the end we always need a balance between the two categories.
Psychologically speaking, your team seems to be improving in that aspect as well. How do you work on that? How do you work on building the mindset you often talk about?
For me personally, I had said several times that the only way to develop a winning attitude is to win games, even if it is a competition. I think we are on the right track. We have players play inside a dynamic room that behaves like a leader. They are also growing in this sector and it is very important, especially when you have a team like ours.
What kind of contribution do you expect from Palmer?
Much, much more. He is, as you said, probably our best player. We’re glad you’re back. Now we need to give him time to be 100%. He has done well in the past and will undoubtedly do well for this club in the future.
