Chelsea fans turn on Maresca over his 'deluded' post-match comments

Chelsea fans have blasted manager Enzo Maresca for his comments after the Blues' 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday.

Mikel Merino's first-half header proved the difference between the two teams as Arsenal strengthened their grip on second place while dealing a blow to Chelsea's Champions League hopes.

But despite losing to their London rivals, Chelsea boss Maresca remained upbeat in his post-match interview.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Italian insisted his side 'controlled the game' and 'competed very well' against Mikel Arteta's men.

But Chelsea supporters were having none of it and took to social media to criticise Maresca for his 'deluded' assessment of his team's performance.

One fan wrote on X: '“We controlled the game”??!! Honestly it’s worrying how deluded he is. Controlling the bits of the pitch with sideways passing doesn’t mean you control the game. We didn’t look threatening at all. Arsenal forced us wide & shut the central areas out comfortably.'

Another supporter echoed that sentiment, adding: 'This guy is delusional. The difference was Arsenal tried to win the game. And we had no intention of doing that.'

Maresca was also accused of insulting fans' intelligence as one X user posted: 'It's not the fact that he is watching a different game, it's the fact that he thinks we are all idiots and that we can not see how dire we are. Insulting.'

Chelsea's style of play has become a major talking point in recent weeks, with some fans growing tired of the team dominating possession but doing very little with it.

Sunday's game followed a similar pattern as clear-cut chances were few and far between, and one supporter claimed Maresca's side are currently playing 'horrendous football'.

'We certainly didn’t control the game,' they said. 'Their keeper made one save.

'Of our 508 completed passes, 313 came from the back 4 or Keeper.

'It’s horrendous football.'

Another supporter was perplexed by Maresca's remarks, and admitted watching Chelsea games has become a 'tedious' task.

'Does Maresca watch a different game to the rest of us?' they asked.

'He spouts the same old same old after every game. We were boring and never looked like scoring if we had been there all bleedin' night!

'I love going to games but this is doing me in. It’s so tedious and hard to watch.'

Despite losing at the Emirates, Chelsea remain in the top four for now.

However, they have not won away from home in the league for over three months, and have dropped to 21 points behind leaders Liverpool after appearing to be title contenders in the opening months of the season.