Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he delivered a “clear” message to his players after their 3–1 defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, while playing down the significance of hierarchical figures appearing in the dressing room postmatch.
The Blues were aiming to return to winning ways in the Premier League, having tasted defeat at Manchester United in a chaotic encounter the previous weekend.
An Enzo Fernández header from close range handed them the lead, but the game turned when Trevoh Chalobah was sent off for bringing down Diego Gómez on the edge of the Chelsea box. Brighton later equalised through Danny Welbeck and scored twice in added time to take all three points back to the south coast.
The defeat leaves Chelsea in eighth and without a league win since the international break.
It was a victory that was gift-wrapped for the Seagulls, with Maresca once again lamenting Chelsea’s mistakes. Speaking after the defeat, the Italian told Sky Sports: “The message that we just said inside [the dressing room] has been quite clear: against any team in the Premier League you cannot continue to give away presents, because what we are doing in this moment is to give away presents in terms of red cards, that is a big mistake because the game completely changed.”
Reports also emerged of co-owner Behdad Eghbali, as well as sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, storming into the home dressing room post-match, but Maresca played this down as a normal occurrence.
“They have been inside the changing room, like always. We have an office inside the changing room, where, after every game, we sit and talk about the game. But they did not say anything to the players. It was nothing completely different compared to the rest of the games,” he said.
Chelsea, who are currently without Cole Palmer due to a groin injury, return to Champions League action in midweek, as they welcome José Mourinho back to Stamford Bridge. The three-time Premier League champion has enjoyed a winning start to his second stint with Benfica, and will be more than willing to inflict further misery upon a Pep Guardiola acolyte on Tuesday night.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Enzo Maresca Reveals ‘Clear’ Message to Chelsea After Owner Intervention.
