24/12/2024
🎙Enzo Maresca's Full Pre-Fulham Press Conference:
🔹Enzo Maresca: "We said many times that we ahead of our expectations in terms of the way we are playing and points. For us, the main focus is to see how we can improve the players and game by game improve the team."
🔹Enzo Maresca: "It's not about the pressure for the players, club or me [saying we aren't in a title race]. For me it's the reality. I would like to have that kind of pressure and hopefully soon we can have that kind of pressure."
🔹Enzo Maresca on Chelsea's very good home record vs Fulham: "It's football. Brentford game was the other side and we won then. I don't pay attention to the past [games]. The result you cannot control, but you can control the way you want to play."
🔹Enzo Maresca: "In Italy, we used to celebrate Christmas tonight, in terms of have dinner with the family and kids. We try to enjoy that."
🔹Enzo Maresca: "Romeo is still recovering. He's much, much better. He's already working on the pitch but unfortunately he's not ready [for Fulham]. [It's] the same situation [for the others]."
🔹Enzo Maresca: "In the last 10 Premier League games, Everton had seven clean sheets. It shows how difficult it is. We had three or four clear chances, if we scored the game would change. But we could have conceded."
🔹Enzo Maresca: "It's good to be open-minded. But in the same time, it's good that the players have to focus on what they have to do and we are there to try to help them. Most of the time we try to explain."
🔹Enzo Maresca on Enzo Fernandez: "With Enzo, we are very happy. He is helping us a lot. Leadership he is growing."
🔹Enzo Maresca on Mykhailo Mudryk: "In this moment it's good that he can disconnect from the situation a little bit [going to Usyk vs Fury boxing fight]. The last time I spoke with him, we try to support him. Now we are just waiting."
🔹Enzo Maresca: "For sure, the reality says that we are second. 17 games probably the table reflects the teams where they are at. Liverpool are doing fantastic since the first day. Probably the squad, it's a squad that's lived that kind of moment to win trophies, it's important."
🔹Enzo Maresca on January transfers: "For us the main focus is we have a clear idea about the players. In this moment it is not something we pay attention. We will see."
🔹Enzo Maresca on Cole Palmer form: "Now the next step for Cole is to manage that moment. I have said before we can't rely only on Cole. He's having to adapt because he's been man marked in almost every game. Maybe Joao and Cole together is one solution, but for now we are going with Cole because he's still creating and scoring."
🔹Enzo Maresca: "Manchester City at the end will be there. They are in a moment that has never happened before [to them]. Every game they have some injuries, they don't have enough in this moment. The ones they have are not all 100%..."
🔹Enzo Maresca on Marco Silva's Fulham: "We don't know how they're gonna play. Sometimes they play as a line of four, sometimes they play with five at the back. We try to prepare with different options."