Enzo Maresca made an embarrassing excuse for Chelsea’s underwhelming performance in their Premier League draw with Brentford.
Chelsea failed to boost their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Brentford on Sunday.
The Blues created little of note and have now gone eight away games in the Premier League without a victory.
Maresca rang the changes after Chelsea’s midweek excursions against Tottenham but a much-changed team failed to click in the west London derby.
The Chelsea manager was still satisfied with his team’s performance and said they were not helped by the ‘sunny’ conditions and a ‘dry pitch’ at the Gtech Community Stadium.
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‘I think overall we played a good game,’ Maresca said in his post-match press conference. ‘We played Thursday night, demanding game, 24 hours less than them.
‘It’s a tricky stadium, tricky game. Sunny day, the pitch was dry. They tried to kill the tempo of the game, so for me it was a complicated game.
‘But overall, as I said, I think we did enough to win the game. We shot more than 20 times and probably the only thing we missed has been the goal, but overall happy with the performance.
‘We just the missed the goal. We can always do something better, not only today but in general. When you shoot more than 20 times, you’ve made enough to win the game.’
Chelsea’s draw gave Manchester City a chance to move up to fourth but Pep Guardiola’s side then also drew 0-0 in a derby of their own against Manchester United.
Asked how important Champions League qualification is to Chelsea, Maresca added: ‘Since day one, since we started, we have been in there.
‘Always top four, top five. For part of the season, we were second. So I think since day one we are there and hopefully we can finish there.’
While Maresca felt Chelsea did enough to earn all three points, Brentford boss Thomas Frank claimed it was his side who had the best chances.
‘We are all slightly biased as coaches, and we definitely look at our side of the elephant,’ he said. ‘It’s probably difficult to look at the other side of the elephant – unless you are on top of it!
‘I thought we had the better opportunities in the first half. I felt the second half was more even. I think if there should have been a winner, it should have been us.
‘But I thought it was an even game between two teams. I’m very happy with our performance against a top club who have spent a few quid on players over the last year or two.’
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