Maresca: Red card in Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool was ‘worth it’

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has joked that his red card at the end of his side’s recent 2-1 win over reigning Premier League champions Liverpool was ‘worth it’, and has also spoken about the ‘pressure’ he felt after his initial appointment at Stamford Bridge. 

The Chelsea head coach was a guest speaker, along with the likes of Luciano Spalletti, Roberto Mancini and Zinedine Zidane, at the Festival dello Sport in Trento this weekend. 

The 45-year-old is fresh off a 2-1 victory over Premier League title hopefuls Liverpool, but was sent off with two minutes to go for a second bookable offence following Estevao’s late, injury-time winner. 

Maresca had been cautioned in the first half, and was then shown his second yellow of the game when he left his technical area to celebrate with his players in front of the fans. 

Speaking on stage at the Festival dello Sport, Maresca explained why he felt quite so excited after the late winner against Chelsea, and joked that his sending off was ‘worth it’.

“It’s a great feeling. This is my second season at the club, but we’d never won in the last minute at home before,” Maresca said. “The reaction that led to the sending off was instinctive, but maybe it was worth it.

“We’re talking about one of the biggest clubs in the world, one that has struggled in recent years for various reasons.