Enzo Maresca on Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Palmeiras in the Club World Cup quarter-final

Enzo Maresca on Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Palmeiras in the Club World Cup quarter-final:

💙 𝐎𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 & 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐨 𝐉𝐨𝐭𝐚:

“We spoke with Pedro yesterday, this morning and this afternoon and it was completely his personal decision whether to play or not to play.

“He made a fantastic effort to play this game, to be with his team-mates, and we really appreciate what he has done.

“I just said to the players that this win is especially for him because we know how close he was [with Jota] and the effort that he has done.

“So no doubt that we really appreciate what he decided in the end.”

🤝 𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞:

“Personally, I think in the first half we were in control of the game. We didn’t concede anything.

“We scored the goal and we could have scored some more goals and then they were better than us and they scored.

“The game changed a bit, the dynamic changed, but then I think in the last 20 to 25 minutes we were in control again and I think we deserved to win the game without being lucky.”

🧠 𝐎𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚’𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫:

“Since we started this competition, we have a new structure in corners. The reason why is because we are always looking to improve things and offensively during the Premier League, I think we need to improve things.

“So since the Club World Cup started, we have a new structure. Most of the time we try to play short, but also we have the long option.”

On Andrey Santos replacing Reece James in the warm up:

“Reece felt something during the warm-up. We think it’s tightness and we prefer not to take any risks with him.”