Chelsea vs Aston Villa: Maresca downplays Blues’ title hopes

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has dismissed suggestions that his side are contenders for the Premier League title this season, despite an impressive start in his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea head into their clash against Aston Villa on Sunday aiming for their seventh win in 13 league games under Maresca, who took over from Mauricio Pochettino in June. The Blues currently sit third in the table, level on 22 points with Arsenal and Brighton, one point behind Manchester City and nine adrift of leaders Liverpool.

Despite their promising position, Maresca, 44, remains cautious about Chelsea’s title prospects, emphasizing the need for patience and long-term development rather than immediate success.

“No,” Maresca responded when asked if Chelsea were in the title race. “I’ve said many times, I don’t like the pressure. I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, we are there,’ because we are not there.”

He acknowledged the strength of their rivals, stating: “Arsenal are ahead of us, City is ahead of us, and Liverpool are showing they’re ahead of us. The important thing is we improve game by game, and then we’ll see. For me, it’s not about points or the table, it’s about the process and the programme.”

Maresca highlighted the stability and time invested in teams like Arsenal, City, and Liverpool as key factors in their current dominance:

“Five years together (Arsenal), nine together (City). Liverpool is different, but they didn’t make too many changes from before. It’s not about the points on the table; it’s about the time spent together.”

With Liverpool and City facing off on Sunday, Chelsea have a chance to close the gap on the teams above them. However, Maresca urged caution, emphasising the need for realism.

“You have to be realistic,” he said. “You can see the difference between us and the rest at the moment. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to compete and win games. We’ll do that until the end. The main focus has to be on feeling that we’re improving game by game.”