Chelsea shook hands with Everton in the 17th round of the English Premier League on Sunday night, with the score set at 0-0. After the match, Chelsea's coach Maresca gave a thorough analysis of the game and explained the team's blueprint for development in a press conference.
Maresca expressed satisfaction with the result: "I am quite happy with the result. What I said to the players is that I'm happier today than I was against Brentford. It was a challenging game, Everton's defense is top notch and they have one of the five highest shutout rates in Europe. It's quite difficult to create chances against them, but today we have done quite well."
He further pointed out that the team needs to learn to cope with all kinds of games: "We need to cope with all kinds of challenges and learn to play different kinds of games. Everton are good at long passes, second attacks and set-pieces, and soccer is not only about what we do with the ball, but also how we defend and respond. Today, we were quite good in those areas."
Talking about creating more chances in the second half, Maresca said, "We knew it was going to be a difficult game to create chances. In the second half, we tried to play Enzo as an attacking midfielder, with Gusto positioned next to Caicedo, to try to change things a bit. But overall, in this kind of game you know you won't create too many chances, so it's important to stay calm."
He made special mention of Jacquesson's missed one-touch chance in the first half: "Jacquesson had a one-touch chance against the keeper and his shot hit the post. We had two or three other chances in the box and if we could have kept our composure and scored, the game could have been different. But until then, we will all struggle."
Speaking about Adarabioyo's performance, Maresca spoke highly of it: "Adarabioyo and Colville both played very well. Today, all of our players defended well and we once again shut out our opponents without conceding a goal. Before Christmas we were second with the best offense and the best defense, so we are happy. But the most important thing is that we need to learn to play different types of games and today was not an easy game."
Maresca was also satisfied with the performance of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez: "I remember that Robert Sanchez made a save in the first half and in the second half. Overall, we were happy with his performance. He will help us when we need him."
Finally, Maresca spoke about the difficulties of playing in windy conditions, "Today's game was very different from other games, we had to learn how to deal with long passes, second attacks, scrums, set pieces and lineouts. It wasn't easy, but the solidarity they showed today was outstanding."
Despite failing to win this match, Maresca recognized the team's performance and emphasized the importance of learning different types of matches. He firmly believes that if the team maintains its unity and fighting spirit, it will be able to excel in future matches.
