Enzo Maresca plays down Chelsea's favourites tag against 'quality' Palmeiras

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has tempered expectations ahead of Friday’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Palmeiras, stating that ‘football is full of surprises’.

The Premier League side secured their place in this stage by defeating Portuguese giants Benfica, while Abel Ferreira’s team overcame Brazilian rivals Botafogo to advance.

In fact, this crucial showdown at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will mark the second meeting between the two teams, with the Blues having triumphed 2-1 after extra time in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup final.

Chelsea may be the bookmakers’ favourites to reach the semis, buoyed by their recent Europa Conference League glory and a squad brimming with talent. Yet, the Italian tactician remains grounded.

"You are always to play games to win games because football is full of surprises, especially in this competition," Maresca told the media.

"You can see teams that beat other teams that everyone was expecting to win. Football is not about expectation, it’s about what you do inside the pitch. 

"We respect Palmeiras, we know how good they are defensively, the organisation they have, the way they want to press, the way they are aggressive, their transition.

"They have quality players. Estevao is one of them, (Richard) Rios is another one. They have different kind of players, but they are very good. And the best thing is that you can see clearly the identity that they have."

Chelsea are the big favourites against PalmeirasStatsperform

The Londoners kicked off the tournament with a confident 2-0 win over LAFC, only to be caught off guard by a 3-1 defeat to Brazilian giants Flamengo in their next outing. 

Now, with another Brazilian powerhouse awaiting them, Maresca hasn’t forgotten the hard lessons learned from that setback.

"For sure, we try to learn, not just against Flamengo, we try to learn every game we play," the 45-year-old continued.

"The last one was against Benfica, we did something good, we could do something better. The Flamengo game, I said many times, has been the only time during this season that we play in a new structure, in a new system, because we are also thinking about different solutions, we are thinking also about the future.

"But for sure, Flamengo are a very good team. In the same way, Palmeiras are a very good team and Fluminense are doing very well.

"For me, it's not a surprise, because I really admire Brazilian football, because I love players with quality." 

When asked whether Brazilian football might gain more recognition in Europe after the tournament, Maresca was quick to express his admiration, saying he doesn’t need the Club World Cup to appreciate the quality of Brazilian football as his respect for it is already well established.

He added: "We always respect Brazilian football. We don't need this tournament to respect Brazilian football. 

"At least me personally, I always respect Brazilian football because it's one of the best countries, or the best country in the world in terms of quality, in terms of football. So, I really respect Brazil.

"I don't need this competition to respect Brazilian football. They show each game here in this competition how good they are. And they're going to continue also after this competition."

At the start of the tournament, Maresca voiced concerns about the Club World Cup’s scheduling, but his perspective appears to have shifted as the competition has progressed.

He stated that: "This competition is special for Palmeiras and also for us. Since we started, I said that we are happy to be here. 

"We are grateful to be here but at the same time, I said more things. And the reason why we were happy to win against Benfica is because we work every day not just to have fun. 

"We work every day to win games. So, the reason why we are happy is because, at the end are here. And hopefully we can continue and we can beat Palmeiras."