Maresca says Chelsea not qualifying for UCL wouldn’t be a failure

Enzo Maresca has made an intriguing revelation about his team’s season, stating that should Chelsea miss out on the UEFA Champions League next season, it would not be considered a failure.

This Blues last participated in the Champions League in the 2022/23 season and have been absent from Europe’s top competition in the last two editions.

Asked about what his future would look like at Chelsea should his team fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, Maresca stated that it wouldn’t be the end of the world, as the team is rebuilding and moving on from the flaws of the past.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s weekend Premier League fixture against Everton at home, Maresca said: “Compared to the last two years, it is not a failure. How many times in the last two years have Chelsea been in UCL? How many? Zero. How many times been in UCL spot in the table this season? Almost all season.”

“Is it an improvement or not? It’s already an improvement because we have spent all season there. Now, we are going to try our best to finish there, no doubt.”

” We want to finish there, no doubt. We are happy to finish there? Yes. Is it enough? No, because we want to compete for titles. But compared to last two years, I think it’s quite clear that there’s an improvement. If you want to see it, you see it. If you don’t want to see it, you don’t see it. It depends in which way… I see that.”

The race for the top five in the Premier League is heated with fives games to go.

Should Chelsea manage to win each of their last five matches, the Blues would surely book a place in Europe, and Maresca would have hit one of the major targets of the campaign to cement his place at the club in the future.