Enzo Maresca has dismissed talk of a title challenge at Chelsea and insists his side are not ‘ready to compete with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City’.
Chelsea climbed to second in the Premier League table after thrashing Southampton 5-1 in midweek, moving above Arsenal on goal difference. The West London side are the leading scorers in the Premier League this season, while their 2.6 goals averaged per game across all competitions is the highest in a season in the club’s history.
Despite their encouraging performances, Maresca has insisted his young squad are not ready to compete for the title. Chelsea are seven points behind leaders Liverpool, ahead of facing Tottenham this weekend.
“There’s nothing to add, I said I don’t think we are there and ready to compete with Arsenal, Liverpool and City.” the Italian said at his pre-match press conference.
“We have to do many more things good, not just score goals. Avoid conceding goals.
“Defensively we are doing well but we are just focused on Sunday and then the next one. We are not thinking about April, May or June. It’s too early. Things can change quick in football. The focus is Sunday, today’s session and tomorrow’s session.”
Maresca provided an update on his squad ahead of the trip to Tottenham. He confirmed that Reece James and Wesley Fofana are still weeks from returning from hamstring injuries, while Mykhailo Mudryk is likely to miss out through illness.
“Both [Reece James and Wesley Fofana] are slowly getting better but as we said the other day it’s a matter of weeks. They are still far,” Maresca said of the defensive duo.
“The only one still ill is Misha [Mykhailo] Mudryk. The rest are okay.”
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