Enzo Maresca says Chelsea's latest defeat to Fulham was not a missed opportunity after they lost ground to Liverpool at the top of the table.
The Blues were stunned by two late goals from Fulham as substitutes Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz canceled out Cole Palmer's first-half strike to seal a 2-1 win.
The latter's goal in the 95th minute (94:15) was the last winning goal against Chelsea in the Premier League since Pedro Neto for Wolves in December 2020 (94:44), while it is the first time the Blues have scored a 90th minute were opposed. winner at home in the competition since February 2003.
It is also the first time since October 1999 that Chelsea have lost a Premier League match in which they did not take the lead until the 82nd minute when they lost 3–2 to Arsenal.
Chelsea could have moved within a point of leaders Liverpool with a win, but instead found themselves four points behind second place. Maresca admitted there are lessons to be learned after their unbeaten streak ended.
“We conceded too many transitions in the first ten to fifteen minutes of the second half,” he told Amazon Prime. “We controlled the second half much better.
“Then I think the game was there and unfortunately we conceded in the last minutes. We can manage the game better. We concede too many transitions in the second half. They are very good in transition.
“It's a game we can learn a lot from.”
Asked if they had missed an opportunity in the title race, Maresca replied: “No [not a chance missed]. This is just a match that we unfortunately lost. It's just a matter of getting the energy back and trying to go again in three days.”
Meanwhile, Marco Silva was in good spirits after Fulham secured their first ever Premier League win at Chelsea.
It was their first win at Stamford Bridge since October 1979, with Fulham having failed to win in any of their previous 17 trips to Chelsea in the Premier League (D6 L11).
After falling behind early, Fulham kept the pressure on, with 14 shots worth 1.32 expected goals (xG), compared to 12 attempts for Chelsea, who created 0.95 xG.
“It is a privilege to give this happiness to our fans,” Silva told Amazon Prime. “I was wondering how long it has been since Fulham won here.
“We talked before the match about why it will be important to give good feelings to our fans. Their happiness is everything.
“We deserved the three points. We want to finish at the top of the table and improve from last season. Let's see where we are going to finish. That is clearly our goal. We are going to fight for it.”
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