Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca explained that his players' resilient performance in difficult circumstances overcame the disappointment of dropping two points after his team's 0-0 draw with Everton.
The Blues had to fight for Maintaining parity at bustling Goodison Park Sunday. After creating better chances in a tight first half, Chelsea relied on the performance of their goalkeeper Robert Sanchez as Everton came close to breaking the deadlock in the second 45 minutes.
A state of stagnation without goals Chelsea were denied the opportunity To temporarily move above Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, but Maresca was only able to see the positives after the match. In fact, the Italian coach insisted that Sunday's 0-0 draw was even more impressive than that Chelsea beat Brentford 2-1 Last weekend.
Mariska smiled: “I'm so happy.” “I just told the players that I was happier today than against Brentford. The reason is because I was very worried about today's match; a difficult match, a difficult stadium, a difficult team.”
Everton may be mired in the relegation zone, but Sean Dyche's side are no pushover. Sunday's match ensured the Toffees boast seven clean sheets in the Premier League this season.
“They are on the defensive.” ChelseaHis optimistic boss continued. “They are one of the top five teams in Europe in terms of keeping clean sheets. You struggle to create chances against them and it was not an easy game. You have to deal with it and you have to learn to play different games: long balls, second balls.” Set-pieces Football is not only what we do with the ball, it is also how we defend and handle it.
“Like I said, happier today than Brentford game. Of course, we prepared the game as always to try to win the game, but sometimes there is also another team trying to do the same thing, so we are happy today.”
Maresca would certainly have been happier had Nicholas Jackson finished off either of the two chances he had in the first half. The mercurial striker has been adrift on Merseyside, leaving Chelsea four points behind a Liverpool side who emphatically took their chances. Against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
