‘Worst 48 hours since I joined’ – Enzo Maresca gives brutally honest assessment of Chelsea ‘support’

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca startlingly claimed the last 48 hours have been the ‘worst’ of his tenure.

Maresca made the remark when he answered a question about right-back Malo Gusto, who joined Cole Palmer on the scoresheet for the Blues in their 2-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge.

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Speaking in his press conference, Maresca heaped praise on Gusto and Reece James, who are regular full-backs but played as midfielders at times against the Toffees.

Enzo Maresca’s strange ‘worst 48 hours’ rant

“So the effort, the open mind, the way they want to learn has been fantastic and this is the reason why I praise the players because with so many problems, they are doing very well after a complicated week,” Maresca said.

“Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst 48 hours since I joined the club because many people didn’t support us.

“So I’m very happy for Malo in that moment that the effort from Malo and from the rest show that they are all there and they want to help this club.”

When asked to expand on his claim, Maresca said: “Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn’t support me and the team.”

However, Maresca pointed out his swipe was not a dig at the club’s fans.

“I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans,” Maresca said.

Instead, the remark was directed at people ‘in general’.

The win over Everton came at a much-needed time for Chelsea as they snapped a four-game winless streak.

It also marked the Blues’ first victory since November 25.

Crucially, the result lifted Chelsea up to fourth in the table, two places higher than when they began the weekend.

Ahead of the Toffees fixture, Chelsea had slipped to defeats against Leeds and Atalanta as well as drawing against Arsenal and Bournemouth.

In that span of games, the Blues had scored only three goals.

But the result over Everton was the perfect way for Maresca’s men to bounce back.

“I think it was a very important win,” Maresca said.

“Everton were in good form in the last week, so it was important to win today’s game.

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“I think we completely deserved to win the game and the effort from the players has been fantastic.”

Maresca will look to make it back-to-back wins when they travel to League One side Cardiff City on Tuesday for their EFL Cup quarter-final tie.

The Blues have not won the trophy since 2015.