Enzo Maresca has said his Chelsea side have exceeded expectations but are not in the English Premier League title race.
The Italian added cheekily that he does not expect Chelsea’s rivals to slip up in the title race “like Marc Cucurella”.
The Blues fought back from 2-0 down on Sunday to beat Tottenham 4-3 at the Tottenham HotspurStadium, with both of Spurs’ early goals coming after Cucurella slipped and lost his footing.
Maresca became Chelsea manager in the summer after his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino steered the club to a sixth-placed finish.
Now they are second, just four points off leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand after Saturday’s trip to Everton was postponed due to Storm Darragh.
“We are ahead of my expectation,” said Maresca after the comeback victory.
“In terms of the way we play on the ball, off the ball and in terms of the results.”
The Italian, though, does not feel Chelsea are “ready” to challenge for the title yet.
“Arsenal, [Manchester] City and Liverpool probably don’t slide – like Cucurella did,” he added in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the misfortune of his Spanish left-back, who changed his boots after Tottenham’s second goal.
