The Boss Maresca Calls Lead-Up Time as The 'Most Difficult 48 Hours' with the Club

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca revealed that the preparation to the weekend's win against Everton was "the toughest 48 hours" he has experienced at Stamford Bridge.

The 44-year-old delivered a puzzling statement in his after-game media briefing despite securing a 2-0 win at home thanks to strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points lifted Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, perhaps improving the mood following a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the side's drought without a win to four outings.

But, when questioned about Gusto's contribution and general performance, Maresca surprisingly disclosed his displeasure over the preceding 48-hour period at the club.

"The way the squad want to learn has been fantastic and this is the explanation why I praise them - because with a host of challenges, they are excelling after a difficult week," he said.

"Since I joined the club, the past 48 hours have been the most difficult because several people failed to back us."

Pressed on his meaning, the ex- Leicester City boss added: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people failed to back me and the team."

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

Fitness & Disciplinary Woes

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's ongoing injury and disciplinary issues, remarking they had been without key forward Cole Palmer for a large portion of the season, as well as losing linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.

"I really commend the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them minus Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, regardless of who is playing, they are performing exceptionally. Today was 5 games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer playing, we said many times that he's our best player but we play almost all season without our best player.

"We play 5 games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to recognize because the effort from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's success over Everton cemented their standing in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle scheduled next week.

Speculation Regarding Maresca's Remark

It was ambiguous who or what prompted Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the worst of his time as Chelsea head coach.

In that period, the Italian had returned with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, held a training session at Cobham, attended a pre-match news conference where he appeared relaxed, and engineered a victory over an high-flying Everton team.

It was hard to discern whether any particular press stories had unsettled him, if social media comments played a role, or if it was something more significant from inside the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

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