Manager Maresca says Chelsea is not in the title race

Even though Chelsea is third in the Premier League, head coach Enzo Maresca said that his young team wasn’t in the title race and was only focused on getting better every game.

The club from west London has only lost two of their 12 league games. Those losses were to both Manchester City and Liverpool, who are currently in first place and nine points ahead of them.

Chelsea has the same number of points as Arsenal in fourth place and Brighton & Hove Albion in fifth, both 22. However, Chelsea has a better goal advantage.

Maresca was hired in June after leading Leicester City to the Championship title in his first season in charge. He said Chelsea were still a work in progress.

He said, “No” when asked if they were in the running for the title. I said it many times. I like the stress a lot. He told reporters before Sunday’s game at Stamford Bridge, “I’d like to say, ‘Yes, we’re there,’ but we’re not there.”

“It’s great to see the team getting better; it’s nice and makes me feel good.”

“But you need to be realistic too, and right now you can see how we’re different from the others.”

“This doesn’t mean we won’t win games and compete until the end; what matters most is that we feel like we’re getting better every game.”

“Together (with manager Mikel Arteta) for five years, City for more than eight years (under Pep Guardiola). Liverpool is a little different, but they haven’t changed much from the past.” That’s the reason. It’s not about the points or the gap in the table; it’s about spending time with each other.

Arne Slot took over for Juergen Klopp at Liverpool during the off-season. Klopp had been with the club for almost nine years.

Maresca, an Italian, played for Sevilla from 2005 to 2009. That’s about four years before Unai Emery became manager of Villa and led them to three Europa League wins.

Maresca gave the Spaniard a lot of praise. He was hired by Villa in October 2022 and helped the Birmingham team prepare for the Champions League by leading them to fourth place in the Premier League last year.

“Villa has a great manager, and they’re doing great.” Emery from Sevilla, and I know how tough they are. They’re doing great things with some great stars. “The game will be tough,” Maresca said.