Enzo Maresca admits Chelsea a long way from competing with Premier League’s best
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Enzo Maresca refused to be too hard on Chelsea after a 2-0 loss at Ipswich but conceded the result shows they are a long way from being able to compete with the Premier League’s best. A barnstorming display by Liam Delap helped Ipswich register a first top-flight home win in 22 years as he scored a 12th-minute penalty and then laid on Omari Hutchinson’s goal eight minutes into the second half.
Fourth-placed Chelsea could have returned to second spot with three points but tasted back-to-back defeats, despite 20 shots and 76 per cent possession, after a wasteful display in front of goal, with a first-half Joao Felix effort ruled out for offside.
“We expected this kind of moment during the season because we know this kind of moment belongs to football,” said Maresca, whose side lost to Fulham on Boxing Day. “It is almost impossible to have a season where you don’t have a moment like now for us, but at the same time not one of us in this room expected us to be where we are now.
“This means and shows we are in the right direction, as I said many times, but also shows we are far from competing and consistency and to be there with the best teams in England. “So, again, I think we are to be satisfied with where we are, but at the same time we have to know that we need to do many things better.”.
Ex-Manchester City under-23 head coach Maresca had tipped his old forward Delap for an England debut ahead of this fixture and watched him terrorise his defence from the outset. We are far from competing and consistency and to be there with the best teams in England.
