Enzo Maresca has once again played down Chelsea’s Premier League title chances despite having the chance to cut the gap at the top of the table to six points this weekend.
The Italian has made an eye-catching start to his Stamford Bridge reign and appears to be getting the best out of Chelsea’s expensively assembled squad.
Maresca’s side face Aston Villa, whose are in the midst of a seven-game winless run, this weekend and will then look on with interest as the top two meet at Anfield.
Regardless of the result in that summit meeting, Maresca is adamant that his side are not yet equipped to go the full distance and he, for now, is content with the rapid progress he has maser minded.
‘No,’ he said when asked if Chelsea were in a title race. ‘I said many times. And I really like the pressure I really like to say yes we are there but we are not there.
‘Arsenal is ahead of us, City is ahead of us. Liverpool is showing they are ahead of us. The important thing is we improve game after game and then we see.’
He added: ‘You have to think City lost three games in a row but is still second, Arsenal is there. Liverpool is doing fantastic and the reason why is not about the points or the table being ahead of us it’s about the programme, about being five years together. Liverpool it’s a bit different.
‘They didn’t make so many changes from the past this is the reason why. It’s just the time together.’
Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, meanwhile, said he is happy at Stamford Bridge despite being made to wait to make his Premier League debut.
The 22-year-old joined from Villarreal in the summer but has been used only in cup competitions by Maresca.
The Italian has repeatedly been questioned this season about his goalkeeping situation, with current No.1 Robert Sanchez guilty of a number of costly mistakes and having failed to win over some supporters since moving from Brighton in 2023.
It has led to suggestions Jorgensen, who is a Denmark Under-21 international, could be called on to take over in the league, where Maresca has typically favoured a different XI to the one used in the cups.
He turned in his strongest display so far during Chelsea’s 2-0 Conference League win away to Heidenheim on Thursday, making a string of impressive saves as the team maintained their perfect start in the competition and moved to within one win of the last-16.
‘I’m very, very happy to be here,’ he said. ‘I’ve said it many times to my friends, family and agent. I just enjoy every moment and try to get better.
‘(Maresca said) to stay calm with the ball and try to do my thing, try to talk a lot with my team-mates to help them stay connected.’
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