Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca attended the post-match press conference following the 1-2 defeat to Atalanta.
How did the second half get completely out of control in your opinion?
I think after conceding the goal, we somewhat lost control of the game. In the first half, we scored one goal, gave them some space, but also created some chances.
In the second half, I think we had two great opportunities to score a second goal. Then, after they equalized 1-1, we lost control again and conceded a second goal. I feel both goals could have been avoided – they were very preventable.
Can you talk about the substitutions tonight, especially Trevoh Chalobah being replaced at halftime and Malo Gusto coming on for Enzo Fernández?
No, these two substitutions were because Trevoh and Enzo have been playing full games every match, so neither of them was 100% fit.
Additionally, Trevoh was substituted because he had a yellow card, so we wanted to avoid any risks. That’s why we made those changes.
Clearly, this makes it difficult to reach the Champions League top eight. As manager, do you realize how big a challenge this poses for the upcoming weeks?
Yes, of course we do. But the game is over now, and we have to focus on Saturday’s match because we need to win as soon as possible.
Do you have to win the next two games?
How is Wesley Fofana doing?Yes, if we can win both games and get 16 points, maybe we can reach the top eight. I’m not sure, but right now we have to give our all in this game. And of course, the next one. If we want to fight for a top-eight spot, we have to win these two games. Otherwise, we’ll have to play in the play-offs to advance to the next round.
Wesley has an eye issue. It’s quite serious at the moment – he has blurred vision, but we hope he can make it for Saturday’s game.
Is rotation really effective when results are so inconsistent?
I think in tonight’s starting lineup, eight or nine players are the same as those who started against Tottenham, Barcelona, Wolves, and Arsenal. I mean, we fielded eight or nine players who start almost every game.
So if you look at the five changes from the Bournemouth game, it’s different. But if you look closely at the players on the pitch, eight or nine are the same as in games against Barcelona, Arsenal, Tottenham, Wolves, etc.
You know, they start all these games.
What changes do you need to make to get away wins this season?Is it execution, mentality, or something else?
Of course, we can see the two goals we conceded – in my opinion, both could have been avoided; they were completely preventable, the simplest kind of goals to concede.
Moreover, in terms of the timing of the goals, the first concession is often the moment you might lose control of the game. I feel that after we conceded, we lost some control of the game.
Did you originally plan to bring on Estêvão?
Was the plan canceled because you had to replace Fofana with Tosin Adarabioyo?The reason for bringing on Tosin was Wesley’s injury. So that was indeed a change of plans. If we had to do it again, Estêvão or Santos might have had more chances to play, but this substitution did slightly alter the game plan.
