Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca makes West Ham "cannot" claim after 2-1 win as he reflects on transfer exits


Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca praised his side’s mentality and patience as they beat London rivals West Ham United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Monday evening. The Hammers had taken a first-half lead via Jarrod Bowen before Pedro Neto equalised with the winning goal coming after Aaron Wan-Bissaka deflected Cole Palmer’s own cross into his own net.
There was some controversy around the first goal from the hosts after West Ham appealed for a foul on Bowen moments before the goal but the incident was not checked by VAR. Maresca felt the Hammers did a good job in restricting space for Chelsea to attack in the first half. However, he revealed at half time he urged his players to be patience as he felt the visitors could not maintain the same level of intensity defensively for the entire game.
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Hide AdMaresca reflects on win
Speaking after the game, the Chelsea boss said: “I was very happy, especially because I consider this game the toughest game mentally. In this moment, when teams come here and sit back waiting for our mistake, there is no space to attack, we need to be patient. First half we tried but there was no space, 11 players, Bowen marking (Moises) Caicedo. They just allowed us to play with Tosin (Adarabioyo) with the ball.
“They tried to frustrate us so we needed to be mentally strong. Even with that in the first half we had four or five clear chances. Then we conceded a goal from our mistake. We needed to be mentally strong. My message at half-time was don’t change anything, continue in the same way because (West Ham) cannot be so intense for 90 minutes, it’s impossible. We completely deserved to win the game. Teams come here and try to frustrate us, just waiting for our mistake.”
Maresca reflects on transfer exits
Chelsea sanctioned departures for Axel Disasi and Ben Chilwell on deadline day with the pair joining Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, respectively. Earlier in the window, Carney Chukwuemeka, Renato Veiga and Cesare Casadei had left the club.
Maresca said: “Everything that happened was planned from me, from the club, from all together. We have Tyrique (George) who has a very good profile. Probably we can find some different solutions. I’m very happy because (the window) is closed. The ones that are here are the ones that are going to be with us until the end. The ones that left, we were all agreed that they could go.”
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Hide AdChelsea are one of a handful of Premier League clubs who did not sign a player during the transfer window with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool not doing any business. Fulham have also not signed anybody but are working on bringing Willian back to the club. The player is a free agent so can finalise a move outside of the transfer window.
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