Chelsea's Boss Maresca Describes Lead-Up Time as The 'Toughest Two Days' at the Club

Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca remarked that the preparation to Saturday's triumph against Everton constituted "the worst 48 hours" he has experienced with the London club.

The Italian offered a rather mysterious statement in his after-game interview despite notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge courtesy of strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points lifted Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, perhaps lightening the mood after a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's winless run to four matches.

But, when asked about the full-back's assist and overall performance, Maresca unexpectedly shared his displeasure over the previous 48-hour period at the organization.

"The way the squad want to develop has been superb and this is the reason why I praise them - because with so many challenges, they are performing admirably after a tricky week," he commented.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the last 48 hours have been the most difficult because several people failed to back us."

Pressed on what he meant, the former Leicester City manager elaborated: "Most difficult 48 hours since I came to the club because people didn't support me and the team."

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

Injury & Suspension Woes

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's ongoing injury and suspension issues, noting 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 truly applaud the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them without Moises Caicedo, eleven of them minus Cole Palmer, almost all of them minus Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, no matter who is on the pitch, they are doing exceptionally. Today was five games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer available, we said many times that he's our best player but we play the vast majority of the 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 like people outside to appreciate because the work from the players is outstanding."

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

Uncertainty Regarding Maresca's Remark

It was not immediately clear who or what prompted Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the worst of his time as Chelsea manager.

In that timeframe, the coach had traveled back with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, conducted a training session at the training ground, attended a pre-match press briefing where he seemed relaxed, and engineered a win over an in-form Everton team.

It was unclear whether any particular media reports had irked him, if social media discourse played a role, or if it was something deeper from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an matter involving the club's fans, some of whom have still have yet to fully warm to him since his appointment from Leicester in July last year.