Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca lauds team’s response after ending winless EPL run

LONDON – Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was pleased as his side returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Jan 20, with his players regaining the lead after a late first-half equaliser.

Chelsea snapped a five-game winless run in the English Premier League, thanks to second-half goals from Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke after Tosin Adarabioyo’s opener was cancelled out by Matt Doherty’s goal for the visitors.

Following two draws in their last two games after throwing away early leads, Maresca praised his team’s reaction to take the win at Stamford Bridge that lifted them into fourth place.

“The performance until 40 minutes was very good, then the last five minutes (of the first half) we struggled. They scored a goal and we lost a bit of confidence, which was something that has happened a few times this season,” Maresca told the BBC. 

“We need to learn to manage these situations better. In the second half, we started well and scored the goals. Overall, I think we deserved to win the game.

“We reacted well in the second half. After five games without a win, it is not easy to do that. So it was important to win the game.”

Chelsea, who had been second as recently as December, are now on 40 points, four points behind Nottingham Forest in third and second-placed Arsenal. They are two points ahead of Manchester City, whom they face on Jan 25.

When asked about defensive miscues, the Italian manager denied that the 27 goals they have conceded in the Premier League had prevented his side from fighting higher up the table.

Interestingly, he opted to recall centre-back Trevoh Chalobah from a loan spell at Crystal Palace to shore up Chelsea’s defence and the academy product was named Man of the Match against Wolves.

“If I’m not wrong, only four or five teams in the league have conceded less than us. So why (ask about) a defensive problem? The balance is quite good between offensive and defensive. Then you can concede a goal in any way,” said Maresca, who was boosted by the return of captain Reece James – making his first start since Nov 3 after a string of injury absences.

He also stood up for goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after the Spaniard gifted Wolves the equaliser by dropping a corner that led to Doherty’s strike.

“Fourth mistake leading to a goal? And how many times has he saved us? I think more than four... Mistakes happen to him, to the strikers, central defenders... No problem, Robert is doing well,” he said.

However, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher was scathing in his assessment of the goalkeeper.

“He’s a Premier League goalkeeper. It’s not a foul. There’s nothing there. We keep getting signs that Sanchez is a Premier League goalkeeper... maybe, for a team in the bottom half of the table and not a top team,” said the former Liverpool defender.

The Blues had gone ahead before the clanger, when Adarabioyo sidefooted home from close range in the 24th minute.

The fans were fearing a repeat of recent games when Chelsea threw away leads, but Cucurella popped up in attack to score after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – in his first league start for the Blues – flicked on a Madueke cross on the hour.

Five minutes later, Madueke nodded in to make sure a header from Chalobah crossed the line to seal the win.

Wolves remain above the relegation zone on goal difference after a third straight league defeat, as their defensive issues continue under new manager Vitor Pereira. They have conceded the most goals (51) and the most set-piece goals (19) in the Premier League this season.

“We faced a strong team, with players that can create chances. We started the game not in the way I like, defending too much in a low block with problems to control crosses into the box,” said the 56-year-old Portuguese.

“After we started to be more compact, we started to play and create problems. We score a goal.

“Second half, we start again not in the way I like. We have moments where we play with confidence and others where we lose the confidence, and this is something we have to change.” REUTERS, AFP