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Enzo Maresca hailed Chelsea’s mental strength as they came from behind to beat West Ham 2-1 and move into fourth place in the Premier League.
Premier League: Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca (AP)
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca labelled his team’s 2-1 win over West Ham United a huge result as they came from a goal down on Monday to boost their hopes of a top-four Premier League finish.
A lacklustre Chelsea side trailed to Jarrod Bowen’s strike three minutes before halftime but improved after the break with substitute Pedro Neto equalising before Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s own goal sent the hosts into fourth place.
It was only the second win for Chelsea in their last eight league games.
“It is huge,” Maresca said. “It was a tough game especially mentally. It is never easy when teams come here and wait and sit back. You need to be patient. There is no space, you need to move the ball and wait for the right moment.
“In the second half we came back and overall we deserved to win the game. They were waiting for our mistakes and you can’t get frustrated.”
Maresca made five substitutions during the second half with Neto making the biggest impact after replacing Jadon Sancho.
“It is always about the players. It is not about the manager. It was just a feeling we had (over the substitutions) during the game. I think we need to improve in the final third in terms of chances and being more clinical,” Maresca said.
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The Italian was relieved that the january transfer window closed, saying that he can focus on leading Chelsea’s fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top-four finish.
“It was a good weekend for us in terms of results and we knew today was even better,” he said.
“We are there and hopefully we can be there until the end. Playing this kind of game in February, where we are still there, is an important statement.”
Chelsea have 43 points from 24 games, two more than champions Manchester City and Newcastle United.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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