Enzo Maresca said his players still need time to learn his system, despite securing his first win as Chelsea manager against Servette on Thursday.
Chelsea beat the Swiss side 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off tie, thanks to second-half goals from Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke.
Maresca hailed the win as “important” after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League season opener on Sunday. But he acknowledged his side could have managed the closing stages of the game better, with Servette hitting the crossbar.
“The last ten minutes we played a bit with fire,” Maresca said at a news conference. “I was a bit worried. We could have handled the game in a different way. I expected it because we are in a learning moment.”
“At times the intention to keep possession is the right thing to do, especially when you're winning 2-0, but where is it not good? We tried to control the ball in the last 10 or 15 minutes on our side of the pitch, we have to do exactly the same on the other side of the pitch. We didn't concede any goals, but we can learn from that.
“Everyone needs more time to get to know the system better. Tonight was not easy in terms of fitness for some of them either.”
Chelsea made nine changes to the side that lost to City but did enough to secure a result that puts them in pole position to finish the job in the return leg in Geneva in a week's time to reach the Conference League group stage.
Nkunku scored from the penalty spot in the 50th minute after being brought down in the box by Servette goalkeeper Jeremy Frick. Madueke then came on as a substitute to give the London side some breathing room with a powerful finish in the 76th minute.
“I like Noni a lot,” Maresca said of Madueke. “The only problem with Noni is that he has to understand that he has to be consistent during the week, in every training session, in every training session, in every training session, but he is a good player and he has been doing well since he started with us. He is the type of player I like.”
“The only thing he has to improve is to be consistent every day, work hard and then he will surely get minutes.”
Chelsea's start to the season has been dominated by transfer rumours, with England internationals Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell not included in the squad for Thursday's game and Maresca confirming that both are available for transfer. Meanwhile, latest signing João Félix was unveiled to fans ahead of the game.
One player who remains at the club is Mykhailo Mudryk, despite struggling since his €100m move to Stamford Bridge in January 2023. The Ukrainian winger played a rare 90 minutes on Thursday and Maresca said he will work to help Mudryk “change”.
“This is the mission, this is Mudryk, not just tonight but since he joined the club,” he said. “I think he's had some good moments, but when he has the ball you don't know if you're going to get one thing or another. It's about consistency. We're going to try to help him change.”
“When he's in the final third of the pitch, he's making the right decision. Most of his mistakes are about choice.”
