Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca disagreed with opinions that now is a good time to face Manchester City as he also cooled reports surrounding a potential transfer involving Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho.
Maresca’s side are set to face City on Saturday night, after Pep Guardiola’s side suffered defeat at Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
However, the Italian insisted that there is never a good time to face his former club.
“No, I don’t believe in this kind of thing, probably on the other side. With this club and these players, when they are in a difficult moment, they want to show how good they are. I don’t think there is a good moment to play against City.
“I think it’s normal. It can happen. What is not normal is the amount of years they won things, won trophies; what is normal in football is to live moments like they are at the moment. For sure, they will be back soon.”
Asked to share his status with his relationship with City manager Pep Guardiola, Maresca said only extremely positive things.
“My contact with him, the club, is fantastic. I will always be thankful to Manchester City. The reason why is because they called me back after an Italian club sacked me after two or three months. We have a fantastic relationship in terms of friendship.
“Pep is strong enough in this kind of thing. For sure, like any human being, he needs support in this moment.”
Maresca, meanwhile, was confident Chelsea’s away form can be a boost heading into the clash.
“It probably shows how balanced we are. Everyone is talking we get more points away than at home. I don’t think the difference is big.
“Hopefully in the future we can get more points at home – this is the target. But overall, I think it’s something good because of the balance.
“I think if you see the top six in this moment, we beat Bournemouth away, we beat Newcastle at home, we drew with Arsenal and lost to City and Liverpool. It is a matter of balance. We are going to beat the big teams, for sure, but winning tomorrow doesn’t mean we will challenge for the title.”
Quizzed about the ongoing negotiation for Man United attacker Alejandro Garnacho, Maresca provided little update.
“I’m happy with what we have in this moment. On the right side it is Pedro [Neto] and Noni [Madueke], on the left we have Jadon [Sancho]. We had Misha [Mudryk] but he is not with us. Tyrique [George] is an option.”
