As Chelsea's away match against Liverpool, the highlight of the 8th round of the Premier League, draws near, Chelsea manager Maresca spoke to The Independent about his team's recent situation and the upcoming crucial clash. In particular, he gave his views on youngster Palmer, who has continued to impress this season.
Maresca emphasized that while Palmer continues to show exceptional athleticism this season, the team should not rely too heavily on him alone. "It would be wrong to see Palmer as the key to solving all our problems and we cannot pour all the pressure on him." He explained that Chelsea also have a host of performers such as Madouekei, Pedro Neto, Jacobsson, Nkunku, and Enzo Fernandez, and that the team's success is about the whole rather than the individual. "So it's not about Palmer alone, it's a challenge that the whole team needs to face together."
Speaking about his team's current position in the table, just three points adrift of Manchester City and Arsenal and four points adrift of Liverpool, Maresca was both realistic and optimistic. "For a variety of reasons, I don't currently see Chelsea closing in on these top clubs quickly, but we work tirelessly every day, knowing full well that it takes consistent teamwork and time to build up." He mentioned that the only way forward for the team is to focus on self-improvement and set goals in terms of every four games, albeit a challenging process. "We will give it our all and show the best of ourselves against Liverpool on Sunday."
Looking back at the game against Manchester City earlier in the season, Maresca believes it was one of the high points of Chelsea's season. "We played very well in that game and hardly left City with too many chances, both before and after they scored, we created numerous good opportunities to score." He commented that despite the long and difficult road to catching up at the top of the table, Chelsea are improving one game at a time and that clash with City was certainly a wonderful demonstration of that.
