Chelsea's Manager Maresca Labels Pre-Match Time as His 'Toughest 48 Hours' at the Club

Chelsea tactician Enzo Maresca stated that the build-up to the weekend's triumph against Everton represented "the worst 48 hours" he has experienced at Stamford Bridge.

The 44-year-old offered a somewhat cryptic message in his post-match press conference despite notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge through strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points propelled Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, potentially improving the mood after a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the side's winless run to consecutive outings.

However, when questioned about the full-back's assist and overall display, Maresca surprisingly divulged his annoyance over the previous two days within the organization.

"The way the squad want to develop has been excellent and this is the explanation why I commend them - because with so many issues, they are excelling after a complicated week," he stated.

"Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because a lot of people failed to back us."

When pushed further on the specifics, the former Leicester City boss added: "Worst 48 hours since I came to the club because people didn't support me and the team."

When questioned if he was referring to people internally at Chelsea, he responded: "In general. In general," before specifying when queried if it was directed towards fans or the press: "I adore the fans and we are extremely happy with the fans."

Fitness and Suspension Crisis

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's ongoing fitness and disciplinary issues, noting they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the season, in addition to losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.

"I truly applaud the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them minus Moises Caicedo, 11 of them minus Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them without Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are performing brilliantly. Today was 5 games in 12 days so undoubtedly when you see Cole Palmer playing, we said many times that he's our top player but we play almost all season without our best player.

"We play five games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would like people externally to recognize because the work from the players is fantastic."

Chelsea's triumph over Everton strengthened their position in 4th place in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup last-eight tie at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle to come next week.

Speculation Over Maresca's Remark

It was unclear what exactly prompted Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his spell as Chelsea manager.

In that window, the Italian had returned with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, held a training session at Cobham, faced a pre-match press briefing where he appeared relaxed, and secured a win over an in-form Everton team.

It was not obvious whether any particular media reports had unsettled him, if social media discourse were a factor, or if it was something more significant from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to deny that it was an issue related to the club's fans, some of whom have still have yet to fully embrace him since his arrival from Leicester during July last year.