Enzo Maresca pours cold water on Chelsea’s Premier League title aspirations as he insists his side are ‘not ready’ to compete with Man City and Arsenal despite strong September
- Chelsea has found its form and is two points behind the leader in the Premier League
- Thursday’s 4-2 victory over Ghent in the Conference League was the fifth in a row
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Enzo Maresca says Chelsea’s form shock should not make fans think they can compete with Manchester City or Arsenal as they are ‘not ready’ according to the 44-year-old Italian.
Thursday’s 4-2 Conference League win over Ghent was their fifth successive win in all competitions, with insiders welcoming the refreshing lack of chaos surrounding their club.
But ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest, Maresca doesn’t want anyone to think they can be title contenders as it will likely take years to achieve that.
“I really don’t think we can compete with City or Arsenal,” Maresca said. ‘I really don’t think so, because we are not ready for it yet. The reason is that City have been with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.
‘After Arsenal beat PSG they asked Luis Enrique and he said the same thing: that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and we have had the same manager for a year and a half. Now imagine us: three months.
Enzo Maresca doesn’t think Chelsea can compete with Manchester City or Arsenal at the moment
“It’s a huge difference, so I’m really convinced that we can’t compete with those clubs. The goal is to improve and slowly – slowly – get closer to those clubs. We’re not ready for it at this point.”
On Chelsea suddenly appearing calm, Maresca said: “The first two months we had a lot of noise around the club. The only part I have control over is the football side. All the noise is something I have no control over. I don’t know if it’s real sound or not. I don’t care, honestly.’
Maresca’s calm coaching style has helped Chelsea, with his approach different from that of the other Italians we have seen at the helm at Stamford Bridge.
“Maurizio (Sarri) and Carlo (Ancelotti) are different,” he said. ‘I love the way I am. We are all different.’ Smiling, he added: ‘I played as a teammate with Antonio (Conte) at Juventus for three years and I know how “calm” he is.’
Reece James remains the only Chelsea player to be sidelined this weekend due to injury, while Maresca continued: ‘Whatever the competition, we have to be aware that they are difficult games.
The Blues have found their form and recorded five wins in a row against Genk on Thursday evening” class=”blkBorder img-share” style=”max-width:100%” loading=”lazy” />
The Blues have found their form and recorded five wins in a row against Genk on Thursday evening
‘Nottingham Forest has a good manager with a good squad. Beating Liverpool isn’t easy, especially when it’s away. We will prepare our best.
‘In football you always concede goals. But you have to decide how. I really didn’t like the second one (against Ghent). The reason is that they saw that the game was over, so they switched off. We have to improve that.’