The China Mail - Maresca bemoans 'worst 48 hours at Chelsea' after lack of support

Victory took the London club into fourth place in the Premier League table and ended a run of four winless games in all competitions, with Cole Palmer scoring on his first home start since August.

Yet Chelsea boss Maresca, who in his debut 2024/25 season in charge guided the Blues to both the Europa Conference League and Club World Cup titles, was far from happy, although he stressed he was not criticising the London club's fans.

"The last 48 hours has been the worst since I joined the club because many people didn't support me and the team," he said.

Maresca, asked whether he was referencing Chelsea supporters, replied: "I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans."

Maresca was initially responding to a question about the performance of Malo Gusto, the scorer of Chelsea's second goal, before he made his comments about an absence of backing, although he did not specify who he was talking about.

During a pre-match press conference on Friday, the Chelsea manager insisted only victories would stop supporters from complaining on social media, saying all his decades in football meant "I know that if you don't win everyone complains".

But there was no doubting Maresca's backing for his players, and Palmer in particular, as they ended a poor run of results that included losses away at Leeds and Atalanta and a goalless draw at Bournemouth.

Cole, an injury-plagued attacking midfielder missed Tuesday's Champions League defeat by Atalanta as part of his recovery from a two-month spell on the sidelines, with groin and toe injuries checking his progress following a superb initial 18 months at Chelsea.

"With Cole we are a better team," said Maresca. "I really praise the players because we played 16 Premier League games, five without Moises Caicedo, 11 without Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap.

"No matter who is playing is doing fantastic.

"We played almost all season without our best player. This is the reason why I'm so happy for the players. I would like people from the outside to appreciate that."

F.Brown--ThChM