In his pre-match press conference, the Italian suggested that the club’s target for this season was not necessarily to finish in the top four of the Premier League, instead claiming that “the target was in two years to play [in the] Champions League”.
The Italian openly said that his side “are going to try our best to finish where this club belongs, back in the Champions League”, and they still possess a two-point lead over their nearest rivals for a top-four spot – Manchester City and Newcastle.
Chelsea face Brighton tonight in a match that could help to consolidate their push for the Champions League places, though Enzo Maresca continues to try and temper expectations for a top-four finish.
And while there will be no domestic cup success, the Blues are the overwhelming favourites to win the Conference League, with Maresca’s inclusion of Cole Palmer and Trevoh Chalobah in the squad for the knockout rounds suggesting that he is taking the competition seriously.
Nevertheless, no matter what Maresca says in public, he would likely regard it as a failure if Chelsea were not able to qualify for the Champions League next season.
