This is our way – Enzo Maresca defends Chelsea style after narrow Leicester win
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca defended his team's display in their narrow 1-0 win over struggling Leicester, reminding critics that Premier League football is 'not PlayStation'.
Stamford Bridge witnessed another unconvincing performance as the league's second-bottom side held out comfortably until the hour mark when the unlikely figure of Marc Cucurella blasted in from 30 yards to get lacklustre Chelsea out of jail.
Earlier there had been the familiar sound of jeers from home supporters as they watched their side hog the ball but do little with it that was dynamic or creative.
Maresca has previously defended the team's style under his leadership, which prioritises possession over quick transitions, and the patience of fans was tested again here as chances to hit Leicester on the counter-attack were passed up in favour of slowing the pace of the match.
'People have to understand this is our way, our style, and this is the way we are going to play,' said Maresca, who pumped the air in delight at the final whistle.
'When a team creates the number of chances we created today you have to be happy. It's not easy. Leicester until minute 83 were 0-0 against Arenal. The same thing happened against City.
'If you think football is just PlayStation and you win easy? No way. Every game is difficult. The way the players have done today is fantastic.
'Our Champions League target will be also with our fans to support us. When we play at home we need them behind the players.'
Further frustration for Chelsea came with a penalty from Cole Palmer in the first half that was saved by goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
It means Palmer, who was taken off in the second half having not trained for two days due to suffering from fever and diarrhoea, has now gone eight matches without scoring.
'Yesterday he didn't train,' said Maresca. 'During the night he didn't feel well, but this morning he woke up and said to me 'I want be on the pitch because I want to help this club to play Champions League.'
'In the last 48 hours he was very bad with fever and with this bad feeling. But this morning he asked to play and this shows that the players want to bring this club to where it belongs.'
Cucurella's thunderbolt was enough to lift Chelsea above Manchester City and back into the top four ahead of back-to-back London derbies against Arsenal and Tottenham.
For Leicester their predicament appears increasingly hopeless, beaten for the 12th time in 13 league matches and six points adrift of safety.
Boss Ruud van Nistelrooy said: 'I get good at this after games. A good performance on and off the ball, everything was there and I think the players deserved more.
'We came away with a penalty save to go into half-time at 0-0. It's the kind of luck you need sometimes to turn things around.
'Lots of positives again but we have to take the blow of taking nothing.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
28 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Michail Antonio set to quit West Ham after horror car crash despite being offered new contract amid ‘unique' situation
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MICHAIL ANTONIO is heading towards the exit door at West Ham despite being offered a new deal. The Hammers striker, 35, has not played since his horror crash in December, which required surgery on a broken leg. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Michail Antonio is set to leave West Ham this summer Credit: PA Antonio's current deal at the London Stadium expires on June 30 and the club announced today that terms on a new deal are yet to be agreed. The Jamaica international has been offered a short-term deal with a far lower base salary than his current £90,000-a-week contract. Significant bonuses are included for any appearances Antonio would make next season. However, West Ham's all-time top Premier League goalscorer is seeking a higher base salary offer and is holding out for offers from elsewhere. The club have done all they can to support his recovery, but will not be improving upon their offer and have indicated they would be pleased for Antonio should he secure better terms from another club. Spending money is tight at the London Stadium this summer and there is a focus on bringing the average age of Graham Potter's squad down. Antonio, who is confident he will be able to play again, had urged Potter to include him in a Premier League squad towards the end of the season but it was thought too big of a risk. The striker is now hoping to make his first appearance since the December car crash with Jamaica at this summer's Gold Cup, which starts next week. Impressive performances with Jamaica could spark interest from other clubs, which is limited at this stage. Antonio has already branched out to prepare for life after football, working with the BBC's Morning Live and as a pundit for TNT Sports during their coverage of the Conference League final. 'I almost wasn't there for my kids' – Michail Antonio 'happy' to have 'another chance at life' after horror car crash 4 Antonio shared some footage of his recovery on social media Credit: instagram/@michailantonio 4 The striker is pushing to make a return following his car crash Credit: instagram/@michailantonio Announcing their retained list, the Hammers said in a statement: "Given Michail Antonio's unique situation, following his serious road traffic accident in December 2024, there will be no formal decision and announcement on his future until such time that it is considered right and appropriate. "However, as his current contract is also due to expire on 30 June, for the purposes of the Premier League Retained List procedure at the end of the 2024/25 season, Michail will be listed as a free transfer. "As a long-serving, highly-respected player, and a much-loved member of the West Ham family, the club's absolute priority at this time is to support Michail personally in his journey to resume playing at the highest level." Former West Ham captain Kurt Zouma, who spent last season on loan at Saudi Pro League club Al-Orobah FC, will also formally depart with his contract ending this month. Danny Ings, Aaron Creswell, Vladimir Coufal and Lukasz Fabianski had already been confirmed as leaving at the end of their deals this summer.
BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
What could Gittens bring to the Chelsea flanks?
Chelsea are interested in a talented young winger - far from the first time that storyline has appeared during a transfer latest name on their lips is Borussia Dortmund's Jamie predominantly left-winger, 20, has caught the eye after a breakthrough 2024-25 season in the Bundesliga where he scored 12 goals and provided five assists across 48 games in all purple patch came over Christmas, scoring or assisting in six out of seven games between November and January - but, notably, did find the net just once more after the amount of recruitment in attacking areas for Chelsea in recent seasons, fans might well be thinking - in the words of DJ Khaled - 'another one'?However, with Jadon Sancho returning to Manchester United after his loan spell, Mykhailo Mudryk's future still unclear and Raheem Sterling likely to be heading for the exit, it does leave the Blues light on that side of the pitch before a campaign where they will need more depth to cope with Champions League Chelsea choosing against signing Sancho permanently, it seems Gittens is the replacement, but how does he compare? When it comes to output, Gittens just comes out on top for combined goals and assists, with 17 compared to Sancho's 15. However, they were equal in their goalscoring efficiency, with both having a shot conversion rate of 15.6%.Sancho's strength lay in what he did for others, creating more chances than Gittens playing more passes into the box and winning possession in the final third more often, according to on the other hand, was particularly strong on what he did with the ball at his feet. The England Under-21 international proved higher for dribbles completed (3.6 to 2.2), 10 or more progressive carries (181 to 133), duels won per 90 (7.2 to 3.6) and then winning over half of those duels (50.1% as opposed to Sancho's 44.7%).In Enzo Maresca's time at Chelsea, wingers have been interchangeable, with players often switching positions during matches. The right-hand option has generally been Noni Madueke and he has excelled with his output in goals and assists per 90 edges out Gittens at 0.6 compared with 0.5, while he had also more shots per 90 (3.5) and more shots on target per 90 (1.5) than both Gittens and 2024-25 also featured more touches in the opposition box per 90 than the other two (8.6 compared to 6.0 and 6.5).The numbers suggest there is still room for improvement in Gittens' game, and the drop-off towards the end of the season that saw him start only three of the final 10 matches could be a Chelsea often favour potential over ready-made and, at just 20 years old, he has time on his side to become to become a top-level talent.
Belfast Telegraph
33 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Northern Ireland goalscorer inspired by trophy winning teammates: ‘I want to achieve like Conor and Justin'
Bradley claimed the Premier League with Liverpool in the season just finished and Devenny was an FA Cup winner with Crystal Palace. Such is the close knit relationships amongst Michael O'Neill's young squad there was genuine joy amongst the group seeing two of their own collecting major honours. Ahead of Tuesday night's friendly at home to Iceland, West Brom's Price revealed the success has clearly given Bradley and Devenny a lift. 'You can see it in both players,' said Price of his fellow 21-year-olds. 'You look at Conor, he's a fantastic player. The sky's the limit for him. I've played with him since I was 15, 16 and he's been the same the whole way through. 'For a player like me, looking at him, it's something that I aspire to do. 'I want to go and achieve the things that he's achieved and he's done so much already. 'I know I want to go and achieve more. The same with Justin. He's had a very successful season and got a lot of minutes for Palace. 'I think that's the hardest thing to do as a young player is to break into a first team, especially at a Premier League club. They've both done that very well.' Price has also performed well at club level initially starting out as a kid at Everton before moving to Standard Liege and returning to England in January to join the Baggies. He has been even more impressive for Northern Ireland scoring eight goals having only made his debut a couple of years ago. Price revels in meeting up with the squad pointing out that during challenging times in Belgium internationals came as a 'relief' to him to be with people who were friends as well as team-mates. While feeling ultimately that Standard Liege was a great learning experience he is happy to now be at West Brom. 'When I'm with Northern Ireland I feel settled straight away and with each game I keep feeling more confident,' he says. 'I feel like I'm going to get chances to score and it's just about putting them away.' If he scores against Iceland, Price will move to nine international goals moving alongside icons George Best, Billy Bingham, Norman Whiteside and Gareth McAuley on the scoring charts. I tell him that at Monday's press conference to which he responds: 'The names you've just said are legends, I don't think I'm anywhere near that, but obviously scoring goals is something that every player wants to do, it's one of the hardest things to do in football and if I got to score another goal and join them obviously it'd be an incredibly proud moment for me and my family. It would be unbelievable.' 'A lot of it's down to the manager (O'Neill) as well, he's put a lot of trust in me since the start. I've probably played a lot more games than I would if it was under another manager.' So why has O'Neill put so much faith in Price playing him in a roving attacking role? 'I remember going to watch Isaac play in I think a European Youth League game for Everton and I just liked what I saw,' says O'Neill. 'I thought we'll bring him into the group and see. The first game was a competitive game against San Marino and I think like anything players catch your eye and Isaac caught everyone's eye in training. We felt it was right to put him on the pitch and he hasn't let us down and I think that what you get is a very adaptable player, a clever player, but athletic as well. 'I look at Isaac on the same level as any of our young players that has all the attributes to play the game at the highest level and he's doing it the right way because I think for the player to make the choice that he made to go abroad at that point in his career says a lot. The easier thing would have been to sign a long-term deal with Everton, which he had the option to do and be that loan player that goes here and there every different season. 'He chose a more difficult route so that tells you about what he's like as a lad. I know it was difficult out there for him living in that situation, it was not easy but he didn't let it affect his football. 'I went to see him play out there and I think it's the whole package. He's still got a lot of development in him as well but it's nice when a player comes in and plays international football and feels comfortable in it so easily and that's what he's shown, so it's not a difficult decision. He doesn't give me any problems as yet, so we'll see!' O'Neill admitted he didn't know Price's best position. The player gave the same answer but he knows for sure how much he is relishing playing at Windsor Park again. 'The first game that I played here, it sort of felt like home straight away,' he says. 'I think the crowd make you feel that. Every game that I've played since, I just keep feeling better and better. Obviously, I've had nights where I've scored goals here and the crowd have been unbelievable. 'A lot of it is down to other players as well. A lot of my goals have come from great individual play from other players. I think as a team, we just really need to keep doing that. 'There's a lot of belief in the group. Especially when we're at home, it gives an extra boost. We spoke about possession after Saturday's game in Copenhagen (a 2-1 defeat to Denmark). With this game against Iceland there will be a different expectation, maybe one to take the initiative. We feel like we can go and score some goals and hopefully get a good result. 'At home you have a little bit of an extra advantage and when I've played here, it feels like we have a 12th man with the fans.'
