Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on reaching thje UEFA Conference League semi-finals despite defeat to Legia Warsaw on the night
Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Stamford Bridge, London, UK
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00:00Two sections this evening. We'll start with a review of the game tonight, and then we will do an embargoed section for Fulham's game on Sunday, embargoed for 1pm tomorrow.
00:12Who'd like to get us started for tonight? Paul?
00:20Hi Enzo. Enzo, how worried are you by the performance tonight, or is it difficult to judge given the first line scoreline was so emphatic?
00:30First of all, yeah, we are for sure not happy with the defeat. Probably the first leg, you know, 0-3. Probably we try to manage a little bit the result, rotate, make rotation with the players, try to avoid injury, because we have an important game also Sunday.
00:54So, as I said, for sure not happy with the result. We are in the semi-final, but at the same time probably we were trying to manage a little bit the first leg, the result we had there.
01:08And, yeah, but overall, the good thing is that we can rotate players, we don't have injury. That for us was the main target, because during the season we had many injuries, an important moment, and because it's an important moment now, the last part of the season.
01:27So, the good news also that we don't have injury.
01:30You talked about rotation. It looked like a very strong line-up, certainly attack-wise. What was your thinking about playing Cole Palmer and Nicholas Jackson?
01:39No, the idea was just for them, especially for Nico. Nico has been more than two months out, so the idea to play with him is to continue to build a little bit the physical condition for him.
01:53So, the idea was for him 45 minutes. We planned already that. And for Cole, you know, he had a small problem before the international break. So, again, for him was to use him 45 minutes, one hour, and then just to give them a little bit of tempo and improve that and be better Sunday on the game.
02:16Hi, Enzo.
02:17Hi, Enzo. Was part of it also to get Cole and Nico goals, because they've been on quite long goal droughts now as well?
02:22Yeah. First of all, the main target for them was to help them to build physical condition. So, we decided to use both of them. And for sure, if they are able to score, probably it's a good boost, could be a good boost for them.
02:37But, yeah, for me, probably we managed in the wrong way the first result there. But the good thing is, again, we have six Premier League games that are very important for us.
02:52Fortunately, we rotate players, and this is for us in this moment very important.
02:58How important is it and how worried are you that the strikers aren't scoring enough goals, Cole? It's the same for Nico, it's the same for Christopher and Koenku as well?
03:06Yeah, no, especially, you know, the ones that we are missing. Unfortunately, they are very easy goals. Because, again, I think tonight, the first five minutes, we had two chances.
03:20But it can happen, it can happen.
03:23Hopefully very soon, Niko and Cole, they can start to score goals
03:28because they are very important for us.
03:31In this moment, the one that is scoring more goals for us is Kuku,
03:34and that means a good thing
03:37because he's not the one that has to score goals.
03:40Ben?
03:41The Legia manager just now said that he felt it wasn't going to...
03:46Ben, can you just wait for the microphone, please?
03:48The Legia manager just now said he felt it wasn't a noisy
03:52or intimidating stadium and that helped his players.
03:57What have you got to do in this run-in now
04:00to get this Stamford Bridge crowd behind you?
04:04No, I think tonight, for me tonight,
04:06the environment was good.
04:11I didn't see any bad moment from the fans.
04:17So, I said already after the last game, we need to engage them.
04:22So, it's what we have to do.
04:26In the front, please.
04:27Niko, congratulations.
04:29The deeper you get into this competition,
04:31what are you and the players learning?
04:34It's a learning process, especially because the amount of games that we had all season.
04:42So, even for me personally, it's a learning process
04:45because you have to play every three days.
04:47You have to decide when you rotate players, the reason why you rotate players.
04:51So, overall, it's a great experience also for me.
04:55As you said, we are in the last part.
04:58Now, we have six Premier League games plus the semi-finals.
05:01So, at the moment, we have eight games to go.
05:04And they are all, for different reasons, all finals for us.
05:08And hopefully, we can, you know, winning, for instance, Sunday,
05:12give us a good boost for the final part.
05:15Jack, if you can just wait for the microphone, please.
05:22Rhys James just said he feels that the players may be disrespected
05:25the competition tonight.
05:26Are you worried about their mindset at all?
05:29Probably not the competition, but probably the other team tonight, you know,
05:34because I think we respect the competition all season.
05:38Probably tonight, as I said, because of the first result, 0-3,
05:43so you can, you know, manage in the wrong way the result.
05:47So, for sure, Rhys is right.
05:50But more than the competition, probably the opposite.
05:54Is that your concern at all in terms of going through to the semi-final
05:57with that approach to games like this?
05:59No, because first of all, the semi-final, we have to play both games.
06:03So, the reason why they are there is because they are doing well.
06:08So, you cannot underestimate any team.
06:11Something that we didn't do since we started with, you know,
06:15all the teams that we face.
06:18We'll finish this section with Simon.
06:20Hey, Enzo.
06:21Yesterday, you obviously asked for the fans to sort of trust you and so on.
06:25Do you feel like tonight's a bit of a setback in terms of you wanting them to do that?
06:30And secondly, in terms of the teams around you in the race of the Champions League,
06:35do you feel like there's more of a sort of confidence in the other teams compared with Chelsea right now?
06:41Chelsea seems to be a bit sort of in a difficult moment, whereas Villa, Newcastle, Forest, etc.
06:48They all seem to have a bit more optimism around the play.
06:51Yeah.
06:52No, for sure in terms of setback, for sure it's a setback tonight for us.
06:56No doubt.
06:57First of all, because we lost the game.
06:59But I said yesterday, I think probably the other club, as you said, in this moment,
07:10they can feel more confidence around them.
07:13Nottingham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, all the clubs around us.
07:16But this is football and can change very quick.
07:19So it depends a lot on us.
07:22I said Sunday for us is one of the finals.
07:26And winning that game can give us a final boost to reach our target.
07:33So in this moment, you win games, you see yourself and you are very happy.
07:39If you don't win, no one is thinking that you can finish in the right way.
07:42But for me, it's just how we manage the emotion.
07:47Okay.
07:49We'll do a quick switch over backdrop.