The 2-1 victory over Leicester not only allows the Chelsea to regain the three points after the slowdown with Arsenal, but also to stick to Manchester City in the standings, just one step away. In the post-game Enzo Marescathe technician of Bluescommented on the outcome of the match away from home: “All matches are important and today it was important to win. But it was also important in the past, when we won some matches”.
What do you think of Harry Kane’s words and the lack of commitment of some players for the national team?
“My reaction is that we finished the match 10 minutes ago, we won 2-1 and for the rest there is no reaction, there are no comments. We finished the match 10 minutes ago. I’m not thinking about Harry Kane or what he’s saying. I have no comment on that.”
Is the club putting pressure on Palmer not to play for England?
“Me? Absolutely not.”
What level can Nicolas Jackson reach?
“For me he’s doing very well. I’ve said it many times since we started, he’s working hard with the ball and without the ball. He’s making an effort to understand the way we want to play. Sometimes we use him almost as a midfielder, making him lower. Sometimes we use him in attack, behind the defense. If you remember Brighton, or even today. We are very happy with the way Nico is playing with the ball, but above all the way he is playing without it ball – the way he is pressing at the moment we are very satisfied and we are sure that he will improve game after game.”
How serious is Pedro Neto and Malo Gusto’s injury and illness?
“Malo was with us, but unfortunately during the night he didn’t feel well, he got sick. Pedro had a problem with his national team. There was the possibility that he was with us, but we didn’t want to take any risks for this match and we hope that it will be available for the next one.”
Is that why he had two goalkeepers on the bench?
“Yes, exactly.”
Do you think Cole Palmer needs more referee protection?
“I don’t think Cole is the target. I don’t think so. What I think, and I said this after the Manchester United match, is that when there is a bad intention, there has to be a different punishment from the team. referee. I think Manchester United had a bad intention. I’m not saying that Wilf (Ndidi, ed.) had bad intentions, because I love Wilf in general, when there is bad intention, I think the punishment should be different.”
Should it have been a red card?
“Today’s foul (yesterday, ed.)? I don’t think so. I saw the video and I don’t think it was red, to be honest. The other [contro il Manchester United] I said it was definitely a red card.”
Any updates on Reece James? Are you having an MRI?
“We have no update on Reece. We still have to wait a few days, when he will have an MRI again and we will see.”
How do you think Enzo Fernandez played?
“Enzo did very well today. He has been playing very well since we started. As I have said many times for Joao Felix, the problem is that it depends on the match plan; we use different players. Today I thought it was the right match to use Enzo, even though he came back late from the national team. I think he did very well. I’m trying to convince Enzo, as I did last year with Ndidi and Kiernan (Dewsbury-Hall, ed.), that the attacking midfielders have to get to the box the reason he scored today is because he was inside the area, and if he had been outside the area he wouldn’t have scored. We are happy with how Enzo is playing.”
By the end of the game, Levi Colwill was receiving intensive treatment. What was happening?
“Exactly like Malo. He didn’t feel well during the night and this morning. But he was able to play, he finished the match, and we hope it’s nothing serious.”