Chelsea boss Maresca makes Arsenal admission

Tom Weber

Updated: 4 Oct 2024 13:42 BST
3 min read

Enzo Maresca has insisted that Chelsea are 'not ready' to compete at the summit of the Premier League.

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The Blues have enjoyed an encouraging start to their first season under new head coach Enzo Maresca. Having made a habit of scoring freely, Chelsea have enjoyed a marked upturn in results across all competitions.

On Thursday, Maresca's men got their Conference League campaign off to a flying start with a 4-2 victory over Belgian giants Gent, while results in the Premier League have also been promising.

Chelsea find themselves in fourth after six games in the league, winning four and scoring 15, which is the most goals any team has managed so far in this still-young campaign.

As a result, there have been tentative shouts that Chelsea could be surprise title challengers this term.

Maresca on title hopes

In fact, just a few days ago, transfer expert and football influencer Fabrizio Romano tipped the Blues for a title challenge. “I think they are [contenders], absolutely. I think they are. They will be there to compete,” he told CaughtOffside.

"The chemistry with the manager has been excellent. The team is very happy with how he’s handling things and always the club is feeling the same so I think it’s a very positive situation around Chelsea probably the best moment after the new owners came in and so now you can see how it feels completely different.”

However, when quizzed on the matter, Maresca played down suggestions that Chelsea could rival Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City this term. "I really don’t think we can compete with City and Arsenal," the Italian insisted.

"City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five. If you want to compete for important things you need that time. We have had three months. It’s a huge difference. We are not ready."