Enzo Maresca remains cautious about Chelsea’s chances of winning the Premier League title, despite their narrow victory over Brentford. The Blues closed the gap on league leaders Liverpool to just two points with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge. Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson found the back of the net for Chelsea, but Bryan Mbeumo pulled one back for Brentford late in the game. Maresca, however, believes there are still areas for improvement before his team can be considered genuine contenders for the title.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Maresca said, “It’s not just about winning games, it’s about being realistic. There are things we need to improve on. If you look at the goal we conceded, it came from a throw-in in the 90th minute. Teams that are ready to compete for the title use the ball more effectively.”
Chelsea dominated the game, registering 26 shots with eight on target. Maresca believes they should have put the game to bed much earlier before Brentford’s late surge. “In the first half, we were in control and could have scored more goals,” he added. “Apart from the last 10 minutes where we struggled, which is normal, we deserved to win.”
Maresca also expressed his disappointment with Cucurella’s red card for dissent after the final whistle and called for more maturity from his players. “I didn’t see the second yellow card, but the referee said it was for bad attitude. There are things we can improve on, and this incident is one of them.”
On the other hand, Brentford manager Thomas Frank was pleased with his team’s performance, despite the loss. The Bees have struggled away from home this season, picking up just one point on their travels. Frank said, “We played a very good game here and were unlucky not to get a draw. We missed some big chances at the end. We matched Chelsea for the full 90 minutes, especially in the second half. A draw would have been a fair result.”
Frank praised Chelsea as a strong team with talented players and acknowledged their position in the title race. “They’re playing with confidence, and credit to them for pushing us back in the first half. They are right up there in the title race. They’re very good,” he said. “Considering our performance today against a top team that will fight until the end of the season, the way they celebrated shows they respected us, and we could have easily gotten something from this game.”
