Enzo Maresca says he almost cost Chelsea their 1-0 EPL win over Tottenham Hotspur

LONDON – Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said he could have blown his side’s chances of hanging on for a 1-0 English Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur on April 3 by making late defensive changes, only to realise that a full 12 minutes had been added on.

“We created chances enough in the first half, and then, to be honest, it has been my mistake because I did the change before I saw the extra time,” a relieved Maresca told reporters.

“When I saw 12 minutes, I saw that probably was too early to make that kind of change. But fortunately, we won the game.”

With the clock ticking down, and Chelsea ahead through Enzo Fernandez’s 50th-minute header at Stamford Bridge, Maresca replaced attacker Cole Palmer and Fernandez with defender Tosin Adarabioyo and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, packing his backline.

The change allowed Spurs to pour forward during the lengthy stoppage time, which came after two long second-half video assistant referee (VAR) checks, which ruled out goals for both sides.

Maresca praised his players for soaking up the pressure to seal the win, which gave fourth-placed Chelsea some fresh momentum in their hunt for a top-four finish and a place in next season’s Champions League.

“If you want to become a team, I think you need also to learn and to play in the way we played in the last 10 minutes – win a game in a dirty way,” the Italian said.

He added that Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson’s return from injury had given his side more shape, thanks to his incessant pressing of the Spurs defence.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said poor defending was to blame for Chelsea’s goal. He was also critical of VAR’s ruling out what he thought was an equaliser, when substitute Pape Matar Sarr beat Robert Sanchez with a low drive, only for it to be ruled out for a foul by Sarr moments earlier.

“It’s going to be refereed by AI soon,” he said. “We might as well dispense with the players when some genius comes up with a game with no participants at some point. As referees aren’t refereeing.

“Whether I think it’s a foul or not, does not matter. VAR was called in for clear and obvious errors. How long did it take tonight? Six minutes. For a clear and obvious error.”

The Australian downplayed suggestions from reporters that he had shown frustration at Spurs fans – some of whom had booed his substitution decisions – by cupping his ear at them when Sarr found the back of the net.

“It’s incredible how things get interpreted. We’d just scored. I wanted to hear them cheer. We’ve been through a tough time and I thought it was a cracking goal. I wanted them to get really excited,” he said.

“It doesn’t bother me. It’s not the first time that they’ve booed my substitutions. That’s fine. They’re allowed to do that,” added Postecoglou, whose side sit a lowly 14th in the league standings. REUTERS