Enzo Maresca has not overreacted to Chelsea's winless run, insisting that such setbacks were always to be expected so early in his side's 'journey'.
Former Leicester City boss Maresca took charge at Stamford Bridge at the start of this season and appeared to have quickly turned Chelsea into a Premier League title contender.
Yet a run of three games without a win, drawing with Everton and losses to Fulham and Ipswich Town, has the Blues 10 points behind leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in hand.
Chelsea has not lost three times in a row in the Premier League since May 2023 and will visit Crystal Palace on Saturday.
However, they are still in the top four of the Premier League going into the match, and Maresca is pleased with the progress of a side that finished sixth last season and 12th the year before.
“No, we don't like losing games or dropping points, but it won't affect our journey because we all know that during the season you are going to lose games,” the Chelsea coach said.
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“We finish the first part of the season and now start the second part thinking that we are going to win and lose, but it is important to improve game by game.
“This is a journey that started five or six months ago, not five or six years. Other teams started five or six years ago and are now fighting to win the Premier League – we only started five or six months ago.”
Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palace in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, but they had won the previous thirteen league matches between the two sides.
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