Maresca pleased Chelsea ‘mainly’ controlled Brentford win

Enzo Maresca says his Chelsea side deserved to beat Brentford, despite a shaky finish at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues ended up winning 2-1, but had their backs against the wall in the final 10 minutes after Bryan Mbeumo pulled a goal back and Marc Cucurella was sent off.

Chelsea took the lead with their full-back just before the break, who headed into the back of the net after a flurry of crosses from the home side had put the Bees under huge pressure.

It looked as if the Blues would rue their missed opportunities, especially Nicolas Jackson, who failed an absolute squad in the game.

With an open goal to aim for, his first shot from a cross flew over the crossbar and into the stands.

But the Senegalese international scored his goal in the 80th minute, latching on to a ball from Enzo Fernández and drilling into the corner.

Cucurella gave possession to Brentford and Mbeumo took the opportunity to slip the ball past Robert Sánchez with just a few minutes to go.

🔵📈 Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea is now 2nd in the Premier League. ✅ pic.twitter.com/CDa0NV8Fwb

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 15, 2024

The Spaniard was dismissed after the final whistle for slightly slowing down proceedings.

However, Maresca maintained a positive attitude in the post-match press conference.

He said: “We were in control of the game, except for the last 10 minutes when we conceded. It’s normal.

“We created chances. We could have scored more. We deserved to win the game.”

“It’s all about position. You have to be in the right position and if you are, you’ll have a chance.

“We worked with Marc in this game to arrive and be in the right position. We are very happy. It’s not a normal thing because he’s not a great winger. We’ve been working on this kind of solution for the week and we’ve been lucky.

“I said after the Tottenham game he (Jackson) didn’t score but he did the most important thing. The rest were celebrating and he was the only one going for the ball. Off the ball he’s worked hard.

“Only two teams have conceded less than us. Defensively we are not doing badly. We would like to finish with a clean sheet, but there is another team trying to score.”

He left with an exiting comment about the title race, adding: “It’s not about how many games we win. It’s about being realistic. There are things we need to do better. That’s why I said for myself that we are not ready”.