Enzo Maresca was adamant the ‘environment was good’ inside Stamford Bridge after loud boos rang out during Chelsea’s Europa Conference League quarter-final with Legia Warsaw.
Holding a 3-0 lead from last week’s first leg, Chelsea stuttered their way into the semi-finals of Europe’s third-tier competition in front of a half-full stadium, despite losing 2-1 on the night.
The Blues will do battle for a place in this year’s final against Swedish outfit Djurgardens, who saw off Rapid Vienna in extra-time to advance through to the last four.
The visitors drew first blood in west London as Tomas Pekhart converted from the penalty spot after a clumsy foul from Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen in only the tenth minute.
Marc Cucurella scored his sixth goal of the season in the 33rd minute, but a spirited Legia hit back through Steve Kapuadi, who scrambled the ball home from close range at the start of the second period.
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Boos and jeers could be heard from large sections of Chelsea’s home support as the hosts flattered to deceive in pursuit of a response, despite Maresca’s men enjoying 70 per cent of the possession against their Polish opposition.
The Chelsea head coach, who cut a frustrated figure on the touchline for the most part, later told reporters: ‘First of all, we are, for sure, not happy with the defeat.
‘We probably tried to manage the result, rotation with the players and avoid injury. We have an important game on Sunday [against Fulham].
‘We are in the semi-finals but we were trying to manage from the first leg with the result, we were there.’
Asked about the gloomy atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, Maresca replied: ‘I think tonight, for me, tonight the environment was good.
‘I didn’t see any bad moments from the fans. I said already, we need to engage them. It’s what we have to do.’
Chelsea captain Reece James said he ‘understood’ the reaction inside the stadium, but reassured fans that the squad remained fully ‘focussed’ on achieving their goals.
‘I understand the frustration to be honest. I understand that fans come to games to see excitement, to see goals,’ the England right-back said.
‘Today, we were frustrating to watch but we remain focussed and we still stick together and look forward to achieving what we want together.’
Though disappointed with Chelsea’s overall display, Cucurella suggested the ‘most important thing’ was securing progression into the semi-finals.
‘I think the most important thing is we’re in the semi-finals and we fight to play in the final,’ the Spain defender said.
‘I think today we have a bit of the same way as the last game, we create chances, we don’t score, we concede early goals.
‘We are in the most important part of the season so we need to stay together, work hard. On Sunday, we need to fight hard for the three points.’
Cucurella added: ‘We conceded two easy goals but we cannot speak about this, we cannot make excuses.
‘We are Chelsea and we want to win all the games. We know we have more games to play, we can finish in Champions League position and play in a higher European competition.
‘The most important thing is we have the opportunity to play semi-finals.’