Enzo Maresca makes surprising denial about half time at St James’ Park | OneFootball

Chelsea were 2-0 down at half time against Newcastle today, and it could have been far worse.

The home team were faster, strong, more committed and better organised than Enzo Maresca’s team, and should have been 4 or maybe 5 up.  In the presser after the game, Maresca claimed he’d actually seen good things in the first half and had been far from angry with his players in the dressing room.

Maresca claims there was no half time screaming at St James’ Park

Enzo Maresca speaks at full time after a draw.

“The message at half-time, because even if we were 2-0 down in the first half and the performance was not good, but from the bench I could see that the plan we prepared was the right one. So in the first half the message was just continue to trust what we do. It is a matter of scoring the first one and if we are able to do that we have a chance to win the game. So this was my message at half-time.”

That take on things couldn’t have been more different to the one you get from fans and pundits, who were despairing about how poor the Blues had been in the first 45 minutes.

Either Maresca just sees things we don’t or he’s being kind to his players to protect them. Even when pressed, he promised there’d been no hairdryer treatment:

“No, no, no. Many times it happened, I promise you, but not today.”

In other news…

All anyone wants to talk to Enzo Maresca about at the moment are his comments last weekend. He must regret that outburst so much now. Today he flatly denied he was in a “complicated” situation after the comments.

On the TV coverage, Maresca praised Reece James for his work on and off the pitch after the full back scored the superb free kick which got Chelsea back into the game.