Enzo Maresca believes that Chelsea are back to being a force in Europe
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is delighted with the mood around the club as the Blues made it three successive Premier League victories with a 5-1 demolition of Southampton.
Maresca’s side moved up to second in the Premier League and cut the gap to Liverpool at the top to seven points with a brilliant display at St Mary’s, where the home side played with 10 men for much of the contest.
The Chelsea fans chanted Maresca’s name during Wednesday’s win, and the Italian believes their fine start to the season has increased the connection between the club and their supporters.
He said: “You can see they [the fans] are happy. That is our target, we work every day to keep them happy.
“Tonight was a very good feeling. They can see Chelsea are back and this is an important thing.”
Maresca was unhappy with the performance of his side during the opening stages, however.
“I’m not happy with the first 20 minutes, when we struggled,” said Maresca.
“We prepared to press them man-to-man, and we did not do that.
“After 15 or 20 minutes, we adjusted that and the game was much better. I am very happy with the five we scored.”
The strength in depth in terms of Chelsea’s attacking options were on full display, with Noni Madueke returning to the side and grabbing a goal, Jadon Sancho coming off the bench to score his first for the Blues and Nicolas Jackson being an unused sub, while Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer were also on target.
When asked about the quality within his squad, Maresca said: “There are players behind that are ready. We have four wingers that are very good. In the moment that one of them drops for whatever reason, there is one ready.”
Saints boss Russell Martin refused to be too critical of his side, despite another defeat already leaving them seven points adrift of safety.
He told Amazon Prime: “I’m really disappointed with the result, but I’m really proud of the players. At 11 v 11, I thought we were really good, but then we gave away rubbish goals.”
The Southampton players were booed off at the final whistle and while Martin acknowledged the supporters’ frustrations, he still believes he retains their backing.
Martin said: “The people I bump into in the town and city centre have been amazing, nothing but supportive and understanding of the process we are trying to build.
“Ultimately, everyone just wants to win. Everyone has their frustration with losing regardless of the style of play.”
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