Maresca ‘very proud’ despite Chelsea dropping points

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Enzo Maresca insisted he was “very proud” of his Chelsea side despite them being unable to find a way past Everton’s resolute defence.

The Blues had to settle for a point after a goalless draw at Goodison Park.

A win would have taken them to the top of the Premier League table – at least until Liverpool’s win over Tottenham later in the day.

But head coach Maresca revealed that he was more satisfied with the display on Merseyside than the one in the recent win over Brentford.

He explained: “I’m absolutely happy. I just said to the players I’m more happy today than the Brentford game. The reason why is I was quite worried about this game. It’s a tricky game, a tricky stadium, a tricky team.

“Everton are defensively top. They are one of the five best teams in Europe in terms of clean sheets. You struggle to create chances against them. It was not an easy game.

“You have to deal with and learn to play different games; long balls, second balls, channels, set-pieces. Football is not only how good we play on the ball, it’s also how you defend and how you deal with that. I’m very proud today.”

Chelsea managed only five attempts on target despite having 75% of possession.

But Maresca said: “We knew it was going to be a tough game in terms of clear chances. In general you always struggle to create chances against them.”