Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca admitted his team were guilty of gifting Brighton victory at Stamford Bridge, as reports surfaced of co-owner Behdad Eghbali and two sporting directors entering the dressing room post-match.
Maresca confirmed he delivered a “clear” message to his squad after their 3–1 defeat on Saturday, stressing that repeated mistakes were costing the Blues dearly.
– ADEVERTISEMENT –
He also downplayed the significance of Chelsea hierarchy members being present in the dressing room after the loss.
The Blues were aiming to bounce back from defeat against Manchester United but collapsed again, despite taking an early lead.
Enzo Fernández’s close-range header had given Chelsea the advantage, but Trevoh Chalobah’s red card for bringing down Diego Gómez shifted momentum.
Brighton equalised through Danny Welbeck before striking twice in added time to seal the win.
The result leaves Chelsea in eighth place in the Premier League and still searching for their first league victory since the international break.
Their struggles are compounded by the absence of Cole Palmer, sidelined with a groin injury.
– ADEVERTISEMENT –
Speaking to Sky Sports after the defeat, Maresca said:
The message that we just said inside [the dressing room] has been quite clear: against any team in the Premier League you cannot continue to give away presents, because what we are doing in this moment is to give away presents in terms of red cards, that is a big mistake because the game completely changed.
On the presence of Chelsea’s ownership group and sporting directors, Maresca explained:
They have been inside the changing room, like always. We have an office inside the changing room, where, after every game, we sit and talk about the game. But they did not say anything to the players. It was nothing completely different compared to the rest of the games.
– ADEVERTISEMENT –
Chelsea now turn their attention to the Champions League, where José Mourinho will return to Stamford Bridge with Benfica on Tuesday night.
The Portuguese coach has made a winning start in his second spell with the Lisbon club and will aim to heap further pressure on Maresca.