“I nearly cost Chelsea with this crucial error in last 12minutes against Tottenham” “God save me” – Enzo Maresca finally reveals
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has confessed to a tactical oversight that nearly jeopardised his team’s narrow 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Blues secured a vital three points at Stamford Bridge, thanks to a second-half header from Enzo Fernandez, but the closing moments were anything but straightforward for the hosts.
With Chelsea clinging to their slender lead, Maresca withdrew forward Cole Palmer and goal-scorer Fernandez, bringing on Tosin Adarabioyo and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to shore up the defence and midfield, respectively.
Only after making the changes did Maresca realise that 12 minutes of stoppage time had been signalled – largely due to extensive VAR reviews that had disallowed goals for both sides during the second half.
“We created chances enough in the first half, and then, to be honest, it has been my mistake because I did the change before I saw the extra time,” Maresca told reporters.
“When I saw 12 minutes, I saw that probably was too early to make that kind of change. But fortunately, we won the game, and we are happy.”
Despite his admission of a tactical error, Maresca was quick to heap praise on his players for their resilience and determination during the frantic finale.
“If you want to become a team, I think you need also to learn and to play in the way we played in the last 10 minutes: win a game in a dirty way,” the Italian said.