Enzo Maresca addresses Premier League title challenge as Chelsea boss delivers Enzo Fernandez verdict

Victory implicit Aston Villa connected Sunday would beryllium a seventh successful 13 league games nether the Italian who has made an impactful commencement since succeeding Mauricio Pochettino successful the summer.

After inheriting a five-match winning streak with which the squad finished past season, Maresca has masterminded the club's astir accordant spell since Todd Boehly's Clearlake Capital consortium took complaint two-and-a-half years ago.

They are successful the hunt to instrumentality to the Champions League aft 2 seasons away, though conscionable arsenic important has been the 44-year-old's occurrence successful creating bid retired of what looked a bloated, unbalanced squad erstwhile helium took over.

Despite the accelerated advancement made nether his leadership, Maresca was anxious to play down suggestions Chelsea could beryllium the squad to extremity Manchester City's four-year rubric streak this season.

"No," helium said erstwhile asked whether the Blues were successful the race. "I said galore times I didn't similar the pressure. I didn't similar to accidental yes we are there, but we are not there.

"Arsenal are up of us, City is up of us, Liverpool showing they are up of us. The important happening is we amended crippled aft crippled and past we volition see.

"For me, it is not astir points oregon the table, it is astir the process and the programme. Five years unneurotic (Arsenal), 9 unneurotic (City). Liverpool is antithetic but they didn't marque excessively galore changes from before. It's not astir the points quality connected the table, it is astir the clip together."

"You person to beryllium realistic," cautioned Maresca. "You tin spot the quality betwixt america and the remainder successful this moment. It doesn't mean we are not going to vie and triumph games. We volition bash that to the end. The main absorption has to beryllium the feeling we are improving crippled aft game."

The Argentina World Cup victor turned successful 1 of his stronger performances successful blue, scoring the team's 2nd extremity successful the 2nd fractional to efficaciously wrapper up the game.

"Enzo is doing good since we started," said Maresca. "For immoderate games, I instrumentality antithetic decisions - it doesn't mean they are out. If they deliberation connected the seat they are doing bad, it is not similar this.

"The crippled program requires antithetic kinds of players and that's the crushed wherefore sometimes we spell for Moises (Caicedo) and Romeo (Lavia). We tin spell successful aboriginal with Romeo and Enzo oregon Romeo, Enzo and Moises. It depends connected the game."

Additional reporting from PA