Enzo Maresca will not let his Chelsea players get complacent after a chaotic 4-3 win over Tottenham put them within touching distance of the Premier League summit.
Cole Palmer's second-half penalty double, which came either side of Enzo Fernandez's thrashing finish, produced a remarkable turnaround at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Chelsea trailed 2-0 after just eleven minutes when Marc Cucurella's pair of errors allowed Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski to score, before Jadon Sancho reduced the deficit with a fine finish.
A fighting comeback win moved Chelsea to within four points of Liverpool, whose match with Everton was postponed due to bad weather, and Maresca insists his side will not concede.
“The plan or the idea is not to let the players slow down. They can't drop because they know there is another player waiting to come in,” the Chelsea boss told Sky Sports.
“Arsenal, City and Liverpool are probably not going to go down like Cucurella did! To be honest, we are not ready for it yet. We are far from these teams, but we are concentrating day by day and trying to improve the team to improve.”
48 – Cole Palmer now has 50 goals (33 goals, 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games for Chelsea; only Erling Haaland for Man City (39), Andy Cole for Newcastle (43) and Mo Salah for Liverpool (46) have ever reached 50 in fewer PL games for a club. Daring. pic.twitter.com/nlaHMUvoAR
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe” >@OptaJoe) December 8, 2024
Maresca continued to reiterate that Chelsea are not yet in the title race, despite Arsenal's leap forward and increasing pressure on Arne Slot's Reds.
However, the Blues are firmly in contention heading into a decisive festive period, thanks to the brilliant selection of young talent by Palmer and Maresca.
Palmer now has 50 goals (33 goals, 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games for Chelsea, a tally surpassed by only three players in the competition's history.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland (39), Andy Cole for Newcastle United (43) and Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah (46) once reached 50 in fewer league appearances for a club.
Maresca recognized the special talent he has in Palmer, who has converted all 12 penalties taken in the Premier League, the most in the competition's history, without ever missing (Yaya Toure is next on 11).
“I know Cole from a long time ago and I always trust him in every aspect,” Maresca said of his star talisman. “He's a fantastic guy.
“He learns to play games when he is marked man to man, [Yves] Bissouma was with him the entire match. He learns, improves and scores goals. That makes him happy and that makes us happy.”
Bissouma was at fault for the first penalty, bringing down the onrushing Moises Caicedo, who was earlier lucky to avoid a red card after a VAR review for a high lunge on Pape Sarr in the first half.
Sarr then awarded Palmer a penalty for the second penalty, which he coolly fired down the middle, creating the breathing space Chelsea needed thanks to Son Heung-min's late consolation goal.
It would have been easier for the visitors had it not been for Cucurella, although Maresca saw the humor in those mistakes after another impressive comeback.
“He said to me after the match that he was trying to bring emotion into the match,” Maresca joked. “It's more of a question for Marc [on his boots].
“They are mature enough to decide what shoes they need for the game.”
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