Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca explained that the resilient performance of his players in difficult conditions outweighed the disappointment of two dropped points after his side’s 0-0 draw with Everton.
The Blues had to fight to preserve parity at a blustery Goodison Park on Sunday. After creating the better chances in a tight first half, Chelsea were reliant upon the performance of their goalkeeper Robert Sanchez as Everton came close to breaking the deadlock over the second 45 minutes.
A goalless stalemate denied Chelsea the chance to temporarily move above Liverpool at the Premier League summit, but Maresca could only see the positives post-game. In fact, the Italian boss insisted that Sunday’s 0-0 draw was more impressive than Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Brentford last weekend.
“I’m absolutely happy,” Maresca beamed. “I just said to the players that I am more happy today than the Brentford game. The reason why is because I was quite worried about today’s game; a tricky game, a tricky stadium, a tricky team.”
Everton may be mired in a relegation scrap, but Sean Dyche’s side are no pushovers. Sunday’s shutout ensured that the Toffees boast a Premier League-high seven clean sheets this season.
“They are defensively top,” Chelsea’s optimistic boss continued. “They are one of the five best teams in Europe in terms of clean sheets. You struggle to create chances against them and it was not an easy game. You have to deal and you have to learn to play different games; long balls, second balls, set pieces. Football is not just what we do on the ball, it is also how you defend and deal with that.
“Like I said, more happy today than the Brentford game. For sure, prepared the game like always to try and win the game but sometimes there is also another team there that tries to do the same, so we are happy today.”
Maresca would have certainly been happier had Nicolas Jackson finished off either of his two first-half opportunities. The mercurial forward was wayward on Merseyside, leaving Chelsea four points adrift of a Liverpool side which emphatically took their chances against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
