We’ve gotten to know Enzo Maresca fairly well over the past year and a half, and the one thing he’s always been consistent about is not getting too high or too low after wins, defeats, injustices, or even
trophies. Okay, maybe a bit with some of the trophies. You don’t get to become Champions of the World every day.
But he certainly wasn’t getting carried away with last night’s resounding thumping of Barcelona at Stamford Bridge. Barca may have played about half the game with just ten, but even before Ronald Araújo’s second yellow, Chelsea were well on top, and the visitors were only saved from being behind by more than one goal by the linesman’s flag and VAR.
Chelsea scored three, and had three more ruled out by margins (correctly, I suppose). If I’m Enzo Maresca, I’m counting this as a six-nil.
The real Enzo Maresca is ready for what’s next already.
“It’s a big win, especially because the other team was Barcelona. But nothing changed in terms of what team we are, what we can achieve. So for sure it’s important tonight’s game, but no more than that. It’s finished, now focus on the next one that is difficult again.”
And, indeed, the next one will be even more difficult, away to league-leaders Arsenal on Sunday. They probably won’t leave themselves as open as Barca did. We’re going to need at least as much effort and intensity as we put in tonight, and probably much, much more.
Maresca’s not oblivious to the momentous nature of Tuesday’s win however. So it’s a couple days off for the players, to rest, recover, reflect, and be ready to go again.
“The feeling was very good [and] I told the players, next 48 hours, completely switch off, have a rest, recovery energy, because then Sunday we have Arsenal. But my message after the game was just recover energy, that in this moment is the most important thing. And then from Friday we start to think about Arsenal.
“[We] need to keep the momentum, because it’s very nice. And it’s much more easy to recover energy when you win games, for sure.”
-Enzo Maresca; source: Football.London
Nothing’s more fun than winning.
