Angry Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca lets rip in extraordinary 'worst 48 hours' rant

Chelsea eased to a 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday afternoon at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto - but Enzo Maresca cut an angry figure post-match

Enzo Maresca described the 48 hours leading up to Chelsea’s win against Everton as “the worst” of his time at Stamford Bridge so far.

The Blues went into Saturday’s 2-0 win, courtesy of goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto, without a victory in four matches. Chelsea were beaten in Bergamo against Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, and Maresca bemoaned the lack of support he and his players received in the aftermath of the defeat.

When asked a question about Gusto’s performance against Everton, Maresca went on a rant: “It's the effort from the players. We said many times that Reece [James] and Malo, they are both full-backs and today they were both midfielders. So the effort, the open mind, the way they want to learn has been fantastic and this is the reason why I praise the players because with so many problems, they are doing very well after a complicated week.

“Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst 48 hours since I joined the club because many people didn't support us. So I'm very happy for Malo in that moment that the effort from Malo and from the rest show that they are all there and they want to help this club.”

When pressed on what he meant, the Chelsea head coach responded: “Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn’t support me and the team.”

“In general, in general,” he then replied when asked who was not supporting him. “I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans.”

Things were made a little bit easier for Maresca, though, on Saturday afternoon with Palmer scoring his first goal since September 17 to get the ball rolling for Chelsea against Everton.

Gusto made it two for the Blues shortly before the half-time break in what was the final goal of the afternoon in west London.

Maresca was quick to praise his players for how they have dealt with playing the majority of the season without someone as significant as Palmer.

“I said many times that with Cole we are a better team,” Maresca said. “I really praise the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap. And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are doing fantastic.

“Today was five games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he's our best player but we play almost all season without our best player.”