Enzo Maresca believes Chelsea shall be “a greater group” after their Europa Convention League quarter-final conflict with Legia Warsaw on Thursday.
Maresca’s facet boast a one hundred pc file within the competitors this season and shall be agency favourites for the win within the Polish capital.
The Blues shall be hoping to take the subsequent step in direction of a primary trophy below the Italian. Nevertheless, the London membership are balancing their European ambitions with a push to safe Champions League soccer subsequent time period by securing a top-five spot within the Premier League.
And the latter, insists Maresca, stays the precedence.
“The principle goal turns into to complete prime 4, prime 5 and play subsequent season’s Champions League,” Maresca stated.
“However particularly as a result of this membership, and the followers, and the establishment, Chelsea as a membership, has to play that competitors.
“We have now been there all season, and hopefully we will be there on the finish.”
A visit to Poland for the #UECL quarter-finals. 🔜🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/8HtODKFrnX
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 8, 2025
Whereas Chelsea shall be anticipated to return from Poland victorious, their supervisor believes the expertise will solely profit his younger squad.
“We can’t permit exterior issues to alter the way in which we expect or the change we behave,” stated Maresca.
“As a participant, I performed in 4 or 5 totally different groups the place you possibly can play derby.
“I stated we have to expertise this sort of video games, this sort of second, that for certain after tomorrow’s recreation we’re going to be a greater group as a result of we want that.
“We’re very younger however in the identical second we want this sort of video games to enhance.”
Maresca, who confirmed defender Wesley Fofana could be out for the remainder of the season after present process hamstring surgical procedure, additionally addressed his considerably controversial resolution to relaxation Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson of their Premier League stalemate towards Brentford on Sunday.
“Most likely from exterior, you obtain within the fallacious manner the rationale why Cole and Nico didn’t play. They didn’t play, not as a result of we wish to relaxation them for in the present day.
“They didn’t play as a result of there was a recreation plan, as a result of Brentford had 24 hours greater than us, as a result of a few of the gamers had been drained.”
