Maresca fumes as Betis get 48-hour Conference League final advantage
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said on Tuesday that he was unhappy after LaLiga accepted a request from Real Betis to move their final league game forward two days to Friday, giving the club more time to prepare for the Conference League final.
Chelsea visit fellow Champions League hopefuls Nottingham Forest for their final Premier League game of the season on Sunday, two days after Conference League final opponents Betis play Valencia.
"I'm not happy, 100%, you cannot allow another team 48 hours more when you play a European final," Maresca told reporters.
"(Either we play Friday) or they play Sunday like us. I don't know if it is from LaLiga, the Premier League or UEFA, but if you ask people in this room if it is normal to play a final where another team has 48 hours more to prepare, it is not normal."
Maresca also confirmed that Filip Jorgensen would start in goal for Chelsea in the Conference League final.
The 23-year-old Swedish-Danish keeper has started all but one game in the competition. Spaniard Robert Sanchez has been Chelsea's first-choice keeper in the Premier League, playing 31 games this season.
"Filip is going to play the final because he played all the competition. It will be unfair now if he doesn't play the final. For sure, Filip is going to play because he deserves to play," Maresca said.
Strikers Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu remain doubtful for the showdown in the Polish city of Wroclaw on May 28 due to injury.
"Guiu and Nkunku are in the sessions but are still not 100%," Maresca said.
"For each game, we try to play our strongest XI. In the Conference League, we have played with different players and we will see for the final," he added.
Chelsea, fourth in the Premier League with 66 points, are chasing their first trophy under Maresca.
The West London club appointed the Italian in June after he guided Leicester City to the English Championship title in his first season in charge.
The final is also a chance for Chelsea to add another major European trophy to their collection, having won the Champions League, Europa League, Cup Winners' Cup and Super Cup all twice each.
"The main target is to win a European competition with Chelsea. It's important for the club at this moment, for the fans, for everyone, because it means we are going in the right direction," Maresca said. REUTERS
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