1 hour ago
2
The full transcript from Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca's pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea's Champions League match with Atalanta on Wednesday evening
Enzo Maresca has just completed his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Atalanta tomorrow night.
The Blues head coach previewed his side's European tie with the Italian club in Bergamo this evening. Bobby Vincent was in attendance as Maresca answered questions, and here is every word he had to say in his press conference:
Is there an update on Liam Delap and why has Cole Palmer not travelled?
Yeah, Liam fortunately is not any fracture, so that is good news. And Cole is part of his process in this moment, he's not available, he can't play two games in a row in three days. So we've planned that and it's just a way to protect him.
Do Wesley Fofana and Reece James have a chance of playing tomorrow? Also, is scoring goals now an issue with Liam Delap out? Joao Pedro hasn't been in great form...
Yeah, Reece and Wes are both with us, so both are available for tomorrow's game. Then we see the first XI tomorrow. And then in terms of the No.9, we had already Liam two months out, unfortunately for him and unfortunately for us. Joao played as a No.9, Pedro Neto played as a nine, if you remember at the beginning of the season, also play as a No.9. So we try to find a solution, knowing that Liam is an important player for us because we know that he needs to play games to get fit and better and better. I think that now he was a bit better compared to when he was back from injury, but now unfortunately he's again out and we're going to try to find a solution.
Is there a timeframe on Delap? Also, does Raheem Sterling now come back into your thinking?
Liam, as I said at the beginning, fortunately he's not got any fracture. That is good news for us. Now for how long he will be out, not sure to be honest. And then in terms of Raheem, once again it's the same thing I said about Axel [Disasi], they are Chelsea players. Now also we are in December, January is coming, so anything can happen with him.
How much does three away games in a row bother you?
Yes, in terms of playing away, we were more points away than at home in the Premier League. In the Champions League, as you said, we played two games, we drew and lost, but in the end I think it's always things that balance out a bit at the end of the season. As far as away games are concerned, I'm not saying we're used to it, because it's hard to get used to, but not just away games, because there's no time between one game and the other. We played two days ago, we played two days before, but we're trying to adapt.
How much more do you think you can get out of Alejandro Garnacho?
He can give much more, but not only Alejandro. I think all the players, we try to work every day with them, just to try to improve them. It's been quite easy to work with him, in terms of he wants to learn, he's open-minded, he's working good on the ball and off the ball. And then again, some games he's better, some games he tries a little bit more. But overall he's doing well with us.
As a proud Italian, what is it you are missing most about your home country?
The food.
What in particular?
Everything. I have, when I have spare time, it's almost impossible, I'm a good chef, I like to be, I like to teach. It's like a passion for me, so I love food.
What's your signature dish?
I can do different ones, but especially the one from, the one that you struggle to find in a restaurant, because they are very, very typical from my mum, from my grandma, you know, so this kind of dish.
How proud are you to return to Italy as a successful manager?
Yes, first of all it's always a pleasure to come back in my country, no doubt, and then, as you said, to come back in this moment as a manager, but especially to represent, I said many times, one of the biggest clubs in the world, like Chelsea, I feel very proud of that.
Hi Enzo, on another Italian note, how has Serie A changed since you played there?
I think it changed a lot, from different points of view. The main one probably is in terms of tactical, now many teams they try to, not to copy, but they try to do something similar, what Atalanta has done in the last years with Gasperini, so you can see most of the team played five at the back, most of the team tried to play man-to-man everywhere, if you go to the toilet, they follow you everywhere, but it's for sure in that aspect, it changed a lot compared to when I was a football player.
English (US) ·