Enzo maresca fumes over chelsea disadvantage - 'it's not normal'

CHELSEA HEAD COACH BELIEVES REAL BETIS HAVE BEEN GIVEN A HELPING HAND AHEAD OF NEXT WEEK'S CONFERENCE LEAGUE FINAL AFTER THEIR FINAL LA LIGA FIXTURE WAS MOVED TO FRIDAY WHILE THE BLUES

FACE A CRUNCH PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH ON SUNDAY EVENING 14:52, 20 May 2025Updated 14:52, 20 May 2025 Enzo Maresca has said it is unacceptable that Chelsea have been given 48 hours less to

prepare for next week's UEFA Conference League final than opponents Real Betis. Chelsea face Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon in what could be a shootout for a place in next

season's Champions League. But Betis' final La Liga game of the season, at home to Valencia, has been moved forward by 48 hours to permit Manuel Pellegrini's side additional

rest. And that has irked Maresca, with the head coach saying: “I'm not happy, 100%. You cannot allow a team 48 hours more than the other team when you play in a European competition

final. So you think you should be allowed to play on Friday or they play Sunday like us. READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand sums up Man Utd's Europa League final reality with 'lunatic'

comparisonREAD MORE: Gary Neville makes Premier League top five prediction as manager set for devastating failure “I don't know if it's from La Liga, from the Premier League or

from UEFA. If I ask you if it's normal to play a final when a team has 48 hours more than the other team, it is not normal, it's not something correct. Now, if it's the UEFA,

La Liga or the Premier League, I don't know.” The Chelsea chief insists his squad's full focus for now is on their trip to the City Ground but he has already told them that Filip

Jorgensen will start in Wroclaw instead of first choice domestic goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. “Filip is going to play in the final,” Maresca said. “Because he played all the competition. So

it's unfair now that you are already in the final and he's not playing in the final. “So for the Betis game it will be Filip plus 10 players. I don't know which ones, the

other 10 there, but for sure Filip is going to play because he deserves to play that final.” Chelsea's participation in the Conference League has been criticised throughout the campaign

because they are operating on such a higher level than the rest of their competition. But Maresca says winning next Wednesday will be vital to instil a winning mentality in his young squad.

"Very important, first of all because you need to build a winning mentality and you cannot win the Europa League or the Champions League if you are in the Conference. You are in that

competition and you have to be focused to win that competition. "For sure this season helped the players to win games, and it's the only way to build a winning mentality. And now

we are close to the last step and hopefully we can win the title." Article continues below _Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We

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