In the second round of the Premier League, Chelsea secured a 5-1 away victory over West Ham United. Blues manager Maresca attended a post-match press conference and answered questions from camel.live.
You must be very satisfied with the team’s performance, especially after the early setback, the team’s response and overall display…
Yes, very happy and very impressed, especially because we didn’t start very well. Palmer was injured, we conceded a goal five minutes into the game, but the team responded really well.
Especially in attack…
When we’re in possession, the fluidity must have excited you. Yes, but we need balance. We need Caicedo, we need Enzo Fernández, we need Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin Adarabioyo, Cucurella, Gusto. So attacking players are important, but defensive players are equally important.
How satisfied are you with Estêvão’s performance?
We conceded the goal because of him—he lost possession during build-up play, so he needs to learn from that mistake. But overall, he performed very well.
It’s a good thing he wasn’t affected by that error and adjusted quickly, isn’t it?
Yes, that shows how good he is and why he’s with us.
There were five different goalscorers. Does this put an end to the “Cole Palmer FC” narrative that you over-rely on him?
You already know my stance—I don’t care... what you guys are there to say, people will always have something to say. Those who say we’re just “Palmer’s team”—of course, Palmer is our best player, there’s no doubt about that. And when we have Palmer, we’re much, much, much stronger.
But I think we proved this last season. For two or three months, unfortunately for us, Palmer wasn’t fully fit. We still finished in the top four, which no one expected. And most importantly, in my first season in charge, no one asked me to reach the top four in the Champions League. They asked me to qualify for the Champions League within two years.
What’s the update on Palmer’s injury? Are you satisfied with the new signings’ performances?
Palmer hasn’t been 100% in the last four or five days. He tried to warm up today but felt some discomfort. So we didn’t want to risk making it worse. We’ll see in the next few hours if it’s serious. Then, João Pedro, Draxler, Estêvão, and Gittens will definitely be excellent. They’re all very good players. You can see that Draxler and João Pedro are perhaps a bit ahead of the others. But that’s because they’ve already played in English leagues.
Gittens needs a bit of time to adapt, Estêvão needs to adapt, and Hato also needs time. But overall, we’re very satisfied with their development path.
What’s the specific injury with Palmer?
Groin.
Did he get injured in training?
He wasn’t 100% in the match against Crystal Palace. But he’s been putting in a huge effort for the club, the team, and the fans. He tried again tonight, but it didn’t work out.
What do you think of the partnership between João Pedro and Draxler?
The reason is that I think they can play together. We hadn’t tried that before. This was their first start together. I thought it worked quite well. Of course, we can do better. But overall, we’re satisfied with it.
What are you most satisfied with?
Maybe the start wasn’t the best we planned for. But the team’s response was good, especially seeing their confidence in the game plan. They stuck to the plan both in possession and out of possession, maintaining the same approach. So for me, that’s a very good sign.
