Enzo Maresca responds to Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea warning

Enzo Maresca has responded to comments from Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, who warned Chelsea that they must be patient if they are to see greatness at Stamford Bridge.

The former Leicester City head coach was appointed Chelsea boss in June, taking over from Mauricio Pochettino who left the club by mutual consent after just one season. His start to life with the Blues has been somewhat tumultuous, with Chelsea drawing to League One side Wrexham before facing a 4-1 defeat to Celtic.

After a 3-0 win against Club America, Chelsea were then left disappointed by a 4-2 defeat to Manchester City. The Blues have two pre-season fixtures remaining, against Real Madrid and Inter - and are set to face Ancelotti's side on Wednesday.

Maresca wasted no time in responding to comments from the Madrid boss, who told reporters ahead of their clash that Chelsea must be 'patient to grow'.

"No, you cannot think after two weeks, three weeks that it will all work," Maresca said. "I appreciate Carlo's words, I worked under him, his career is something unbelievable.

"It's not something you make in two days, this is not PlayStation. It was a good moment [coming to the USA] for different reasons, to see the fans from outside the UK. Five games in 17 or 18 days is a lot of games.

"In this moment, the ideal situation would be to prepare for the games but for most of the games we have been without the preparation. We didn't prepare the game with the training session like we are used to doing during a normal season. Some of the games we just prepared with a video or the tactical board.

"We have one week or 10 days in Cobham when we go back. For me, the real pre-season has been the two weeks at Cobham and the week or 10 days we have at Cobham. Here, it has been a mixed feeling."

Chelsea kick off their 2024/25 Premier League campaign at home to reigning champions City on August 18.

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