Chelsea boss Maresca explains James substitution as he hails ‘tough’ win at Burnley
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was pleased to get all three points in a “tough” away day as the Blues beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues took the lead when Pedro Neto scored a diving header on 37 minutes before Enzo Fernandez bagged their second two minutes from time to give Enzo Maresca’s side the three points.
Chelsea moved up to second with the win and the Blues are now just three points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, who host arch-rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
Maresca’s outfit were the better side for most of the match and limited Burnley to very few chances with the Chelsea head coach happy to take their run of Premier League victories in a row to three.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Maresca said: “I didn’t like this kind of win, because it’s tough. It’s tough after the international break, 12:30, Burnley away, it’s always a tough game. But the way we competed I am very happy.
“To come here and not concede is very difficult. It’s normal to concede something. But overall they only had one real chance. During the game they didn’t have any big chances and during the game we had loads of chances.
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“Be ready. Andrey [Santos] is doing very good. Today is a tough game, he is not playing much. It is not easy when you don’t play a lot.”
On Reece James coming off at half-time, Maresca added: “We planned 45 minutes for Reece James.
“It was very important to keep the momentum from before the international break. Now we’ll recover our energy and are on to Tuesday.”
Former Swansea City and Everton defender Ashley Williams insists that Chelsea are still not ready to properly challenge for the Premier League under Maresca.
Speaking on Final Score on BBC, Williams said: “I don’t think Chelsea are ready yet to go the full course of the season [in the title race]. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong? I just think if you just look at what Arsenal have done in the last few years and the squad that they’ve got now, the strength in depth, the experience of the manager, that tops Chelsea.”
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Chelsea winger Pedro Neto was relieved to beat Burnley ahead of tough fixtures against Spanish giants Barcelona and Arsenal in their next two.
Neto told TNT Sports: “It was a relief.
“It’s always difficult winning 1-0 away on this difficult ground.
“We had the attitude, we kept a clean sheet, so we are really happy with the win.”
On winning ahead of Barca and Arsenal games: “It’s always good to come back from the international break when we are away for a little bit of time. But now we will spend more time together.
“So, it’s really good and we are looking forward to the games because it’s the type of games we want to play.
“This one is a different one with battles. It was difficult to come here to play in this kind of ground. But we are looking forward to the next game.”
