At the post-match press conference after Chelsea drew 2-2 with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge, Enzo Maresca was replaced by Willy Caballero. The first half of the game in West London was thrilling with both teams scoring evenly, with four goals scored, but the second half was less interesting.
The result means Chelsea finished December with just six points out of a possible 18 to remain in the Premier League. Maresca was unable to attend media duties due to illness, so his assistant, former Blues and Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero, filled in for him at the post-match press conference.
Coach Caballero said of Maresca: “Yes, he hasn’t been feeling well for the last few days. He had a slight fever two days ago, but he continued with the remaining two training sessions because he wanted to prepare the team well for this match. However, after the match he went back to the changing room and asked me to replace him because he was not feeling well. That’s all I can share at the moment.”
“I don’t know if I will be in charge of the next game against Man City, but I wish Enzo a speedy recovery and I believe he will be better in a day or two.”
And the Argentine assistant said of the result: “Well, as I said before, it’s a difficult start, but now we have to deal with it, we have to improve on it and we will fight for the next few games and the whole second half to improve on that.”
“From another perspective, it means we score goals, score goals and sometimes take the lead, which is good, but we need to manage those games and find a way to win those points, because those are the games we need to achieve our goals.”
“Sometimes it’s the little things, or the opponent finds a way to break through and create chances. We have to develop a mentality that doesn’t allow the opponent to interfere with our game, especially when we’re investing so much. Today was a solid performance in terms of our play and the creation of chances.”
“Unfortunately, we’re talking about statistics more than individual performances like Estebao and Cole (Palmer).”
The decision to substitute Palmer was met with boos, but Caballero said: “Obviously, every fan wants to see their best player on the field, and we share that feeling.”
“But with Cole coming back from a long injury, we have to make the right substitutions, not only to win games, but also to ensure the health of our players. We want them to be fit and ready for the long haul and all the remaining games of the season.”
