Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is delighted with the mood around the club as the Blues made it three successive Premier League wins with a 5-1 thrashing of Southampton.
Maresca's side moved up to second in the Premier League and closed the gap to Liverpool at the top to seven points with a brilliant display at St Mary's, where the home side played with ten men for much of the match.
Chelsea fans chanted Maresca's name during Wednesday's victory, and the Italian believes their good start to the season has strengthened the bond between the club and their supporters.
He said, 'You can see them [the fans] are happy. That's our goal, we work every day to keep them happy.
“Tonight was a very good feeling. They can see that Chelsea is back and this is important.”
However, Maresca was dissatisfied with his side's performance during the opening stages.
“I'm not happy with the first 20 minutes, where we struggled,” Maresca said.
'We were prepared to put pressure on them man to man, but we didn't do that.
“After fifteen or twenty minutes we adjusted that and the game was much better. I am very happy with the five we scored.”
Chelsea or nothing.#CFC | #SOUCHE pic.twitter.com/rnUVe3FmzT
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 4, 2024
The strength of Chelsea's attacking options was on full display as Noni Madueke returned to the side and grabbed a goal, Jadon Sancho came off the bench to score his first for the Blues and Nicolas Jackson was an unused substitute, while Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer were also on target.
When asked about the quality within his squad, Maresca said: “There are players behind who are ready. We have four wingers who are very good. If one of them drops out for whatever reason, one done.”
Saints boss Russell Martin refused to be overly critical of his side despite another defeat that already left them seven points adrift of safety.
He told Amazon Prime: “I'm really disappointed with the result but I'm really proud of the players. At 11 versus 11 I thought we were really good but then we gave away crappy goals.”
Southampton's players were booed at the final whistle and while Martin acknowledged the supporters' frustrations, he still believes he retains their support.
Martin said: “The people I meet in the town and city center are fantastic, they are just supportive and understanding of the process we are trying to build.
“At the end of the day, everyone just wants to win. Everyone has their frustrations about losing, regardless of playing style.”
Comments