Maresca Slams Chelsea: Leeds Were ‘Better in All Aspects’ After Brutal 3-1 Defeat
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca did not mince words following his side’s disappointing 3-1 loss away to Leeds United, offering a “brutally honest” assessment that labelled the hosts superior “in all aspects” of the game.
The defeat at Elland Road ends Chelsea’s recent good run of form and sees them slip nine points behind league leaders Arsenal, just days after a hard-fought draw against the Gunners and a convincing win over Barcelona.
Despite an improved second-half display that saw substitute Pedro Neto halve the two-goal deficit, Maresca focused entirely on the team’s overall poor performance.
“They were better than us in all aspects, they deserved to win the game,” Maresca stated in his post-match press conference. “There is nothing we can take from this game, the only thing we can do is to try and understand what we did and then reset.”
The manager acknowledged that the sudden drop in performance level, following an unbeaten run of seven matches across all competitions, was perplexing but perhaps inevitable due to squad management.
Maresca suggested that the high performance achieved against top opposition like Arsenal and Barcelona cannot be guaranteed in every fixture, especially when managing player fitness through rotation.
“We perform so well against Arsenal and Barcelona, it doesn’t mean we are going to always perform in the same way because of the situation you have to manage, the players you have to rotate,” he explained. “The level isn’t always going to be the same.”
The defeat was sealed when an error by defender Tosin Adarabioyo gifted Leeds their crucial third goal in the second half, killing Chelsea’s momentum and condemning the Blues to a frustrating end to their unbeaten streak. Chelsea will now turn their attention to their next fixture, needing a significant turnaround to regain ground in the top four race.
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