Enzo Maresca believes Chelsea were ‘similar if not better’ than Manchester City despite the club’s 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca’s first game in charge of Chelsea ended in defeat to his former side in West London, as goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic saw the visitors claim three points.
Chelsea had moments, with Nicolas Jackson wasting the Blues’ best opportunities, but were unable to find a route back into the game.
Maresca said he was content with Chelsea’s performance and believes his team were equal ‘if not better’ to the champions despite defeat.
Chelsea’s Expected Goals figure (xG) of 1.23 was superior to Manchester City’s 0.82, though the visitors led for shots, shots on target and overall possession.
“I think we competed very well for much of the game. We were similar if not better,” Maresca reflected to Sky Sports.
“The performance was there but we didn’t take the chances. Probably the big difference was inside the box. I’m quite happy in terms of performance.
“For me, the important thing is to create chances. We didn’t score but we created chances. The first goal for them was almost offside, we almost scored. these things change results but the performance was good overall. It was quite clear, you can see a team trying to keep the ball and dominate.
“We were against the champions today. We will continue and win games. They are a master in this kind of moment. We had two or three chances. They are a master of keeping hold of the ball. The performance was there and that is the main thing. You can see how they manage the ball.
“In terms of chances, we had the same. Keeping the ball was more or less there. We don’t like to lose. We just need to continue.”
