Enzo Maresca admits Chelsea a long way from competing with Premier League’s best
Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson scored to earn Ipswich victory.
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Your support makes all the difference.Enzo Maresca refused to be too hard on Chelsea after a 2-0 loss at Ipswich but conceded the result shows they are a long way from being able to compete with the Premier League’s best.
A barnstorming display by Liam Delap helped Ipswich register a first top-flight home win in 22 years as he scored a 12th-minute penalty and then laid on Omari Hutchinson’s goal eight minutes into the second half.
Fourth-placed Chelsea could have returned to second spot with three points but tasted back-to-back defeats, despite 20 shots and 76 per cent possession, after a wasteful display in front of goal, with a first-half Joao Felix effort ruled out for offside.
“We expected this kind of moment during the season because we know this kind of moment belongs to football,” said Maresca, whose side lost to Fulham on Boxing Day.
“It is almost impossible to have a season where you don’t have a moment like now for us, but at the same time not one of us in this room expected us to be where we are now.
“This means and shows we are in the right direction, as I said many times, but also shows we are far from competing and consistency and to be there with the best teams in England.
“So, again, I think we are to be satisfied with where we are, but at the same time we have to know that we need to do many things better.”
Ex-Manchester City under-23 head coach Maresca had tipped his old forward Delap for an England debut ahead of this fixture and watched him terrorise his defence from the outset.
We are far from competing and consistency and to be there with the best teams in England
It was Town’s leading scorer Delap who won an early contentious spot-kick, which he fired past Filip Jorgensen in the 12th minute after Chelsea’s back-up goalkeeper had been penalised for minimal contact.
The goal gave Kieran McKenna’s team a crucial lead to hold on to and, after the visitors squandered a number of chances, the hosts doubled their lead straight after half-time.
Hutchinson made the most of an Axel Disasi error – he gifted the ball to Delap on the halfway line – to score against the club which released him twice as a youth product to make it three games without a win for Chelsea, who are 10 points off leaders Liverpool.
Maresca added: “It has been a shame because it was another chance for us, but congratulations to them because probably when you save so many goals – on the line, the keeper, the body – probably the desire from them was very high.
“I think we had so many chances first half and second half we started again the game in the same way with two clear chances. Then the second goal I think killed the game. Dometimes it is not the right day for us.”
A first Premier League home triumph for Ipswich since 2002 was worth the wait for the Portman Road faithful and McKenna acknowledged it was perhaps the “best achievement” of his successful three-year reign at the club.
McKenna said: “It’s definitely one of the best achievements in terms of a win, there is no doubt about that.
“The quality of the opponent and I think six of the League One team started tonight, so six of them have come with us from League One.
“In terms of an individual achievement, to beat a team like Chelsea that is right up there.
“We’ve had some incredible games here, some incredible nights and it doesn’t feel any sweeter than a last-minute winner here in the Championship, but in terms of an individual game and at Portman Road, yeah, it’s our best one.”