“This is the reason” – Enzo Maresca continues to deny despite the fact that the table says otherwise

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea side face Aston Villa this weekend knowing a victory would move them into second place if Man City fail to beat Liverpool.

These are lofty highs considering it’s almost December already. But the manager wasn’t talking about a title race. When asked in his press today if his team was there to win, Maresca didn’t give the question a moment’s thought. He maintained his current stance that his team is doing very well, but is far from the top teams who are actually competing for the Premier League trophy:

“No. I’ve said it many times. I would really like to have the pressure (of being in the race), and I would really like to say ‘yes, we’re there,’ but we’re not there. I I would say that Arsenal are ahead of us, City are ahead of us, Liverpool are showing that they are ahead of us, but the important thing is that we improve game after game, and then we will see.

Maresca continues to play cool despite the numbers

He was then asked how he could tell his team were not in the race, they can either move to second place or move to within 6 points of Liverpool, depending on the results:

“Look, City have lost 3 games in a row but they are still second. Arsenal are there, Liverpool, as we said, are doing wonderfully. And the reason is not related to the points, the ranking, where they are ahead. It’s about the process, the program: 5 years together, 9 years together – Liverpool is a little different… That’s the reason. It’s not a question of points or difference in the table.

That’s fair enough – he knows there’s a good chance his newly-assembled squad will hit a tough patch soon and that City and Arsenal are likely to use their experience and step up a gear. But if we only have a few more wins left after Christmas, he might have to start admitting we have a chance.