Enzo Maresca says his Chelsea side deserve to beat Brentford despite a shaky result at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues ran out 2-1 winners but found themselves with their backs against the wall in the final ten minutes after Bryan Mbeumo conceded and Marc Cucurella was sent off.
Chelsea took the lead just before half-time through their full-back, who fired a header into the net after a series of crosses from the hosts had put the Bees under heavy pressure.
It looked like the Blues were rueing their missed opportunities, particularly Nicolas Jackson who missed an absolute sitter in the match.
Since he had an open goal to aim for, his first shot from a cross flew over the crossbar and into the stands.
But the Senegal international scored his goal in the 80th minute when he deflected a through ball from Enzo Fernandez and fired into the corner.
Cucurella gifted possession to Brentford and Mbeumo took advantage, pushing the ball past Robert Sanchez just minutes from time.
🔵📈 Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea are now second in the Premier League. ✅ pic.twitter.com/CDa0NV8Fwb
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 15, 2024
The Spaniard was then dismissed after the final whistle in order to dampen the action somewhat.
Nevertheless, Maresca remained positive in his post-match press conference.
He said: “We were in control of the game except for the last ten minutes when we conceded a goal. It’s normal.
“We created chances. We could have scored more goals. We deserved to win the game.”
“It depends on the position. You have to be in the right position, and if you are, you have a chance.
“We worked with Marc in this game to arrive and be in the right position. We are very happy. That’s not something normal because he’s not a great full-back. We worked on such a solution for a week and got lucky.
“I said after the Tottenham game that he (Jackson) didn’t score but he did the most important thing. The rest celebrated and he was the only one who went to the ball. He worked hard off the ball.
“Only two teams have conceded fewer goals than us. Defensively we’re not in a bad position. We would like to finish without conceding a goal, but there is another team trying to score.”
He left with a disparaging comment on 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’re not ready yet.”
