Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca had a warning for his players after their victory against Aston Villa last weekend.
Chelsea won the game comfortably, beating Aston Villa 3-0 to remain level on points with Arsenal, who sit above them in second place because of alphabetical order.
Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer were the goalscorers on the day for the Blues. Despite not getting his name on the scoresheet, Moises Caicedo also shined in the encounter at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca, though, is not getting carried away with the win and Chelsea’s overall form this season.
Enzo Maresca’s warning to Chelsea team
Following their triumph over Villa, some people have labelled Chelsea as title contenders.
Many will now be expecting them to pick up another three points later when they take on bottom-of-the-table Southampton.
However, after the Villa game, Maresca was in no congratulatory mood and told his players that they needed to get ready for Wednesday.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Chelsea head coach told The Guardian and the rest of the English media: “The first thing I said in the dressing room on Sunday after we beat Aston Villa was not congratulations or well done, it was prepare for Wednesday.”
Maresca also spoke about Romeo Lavia, stating that the midfielder needs to improve.
What has Enzo Maresca said about Southampton?
Despite Southampton being at the bottom of the league with just five points, Maresca is being extremely cautious.
In fact, he has already warned his side that this is the “worst” game for them since the beginning of the campaign.
“This is the worst game for us since we started the season,” Maresca was quoted as saying by Chelsea’s official website. “The toughest game and we need to be ready, otherwise it will be a bad day for us.
“If you analyse the results, they are there [at the bottom of the table] but in terms of performances they are very good. They were leading against Liverpool, only lost 1-0 to Manchester City and they drew in the last game against Brighton.”
Having played on Sunday and with a London derby against Tottenham Hotspur to follow, it will be interesting to see what changes the Italian makes later, if any.
Jackson is one yellow card away from suspension so is in danger of missing the Spurs game. The striker dropping out for Christopher Nkunku could be one swap that Maresca makes.
Chelsea fans want Jackson omitted from the team so that he avoids the possibility of picking up another caution ahead of his side’s trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
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