Maresca stunned after learning shocking stat following Chelsea’s comeback win over West Ham | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca was stunned after learning Chelsea’s 2-1 win against West Ham was their first victory after trailing at half-time since 2013 in the Premier League.

Jarrod Bowen capitalised on Levi Colwill’s first-half mistake to put the Hammers ahead but the Blues hit back after the break through Pedro Neto and an Aaron Wan-Bissaka own goal.

The win lifts Chelsea into fourth and Maresca praised his side’s mentality to come from behind having entered the match with just one win in their previous seven in the league.

He said: “I did not know that this was the first time, I thought we had already come from behind after losing at half-time. In the same way there have been many games that we were winning, and we did not win, especially in the last few games.

“We completely deserved to win the game, teams come here and try to frustrate us and wait for a mistake.

“I consider tonight the toughest game mentally. It is never easy when teams come here and wait and sit back. You need to be patient. There is no space, you need to move the ball and wait for the right moment.”

Chelsea’s last home win after trailing at half-time came against Southampton in December 2013 when goals from John Terry, Gary Cahill and Demba Ba rescued the three points for the Blues.

Maresca added: “In the first half we had four or five clear chances and we missed the target, and then we conceded a goal from our mistake. This is why you need to be mentally strong because my message at half-time was ‘don’t change anything’, as no team can be that intense for 95 minutes.

“In the second half we came back and overall we deserved to win the game. They were waiting for our mistakes and you can’t get frustrated, you need to be mentally strong.”

The Italian was relieved that the transfer window was finally coming to a close having previously described that coaching during it is ‘a disaster’.

He said: “Everything that happened was planned from me, from the club, from all together, I’m very happy because (the window) is closed.

“The ones that are here are the ones that are going to be with us until the end. This is the main reason I am happy. The ones that left, we were all agreed that they could go.”

The Stamford Bridge faithful gave Filip Jorgensen the biggest cheer when the line-ups were read out, as he replaced first choice goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, following a number of high-profile mistakes.

Maresca explained: “At this moment Robert needs a rest to calm down a little bit. Filip was very good but the good thing is that we have two good keepers and we can decide between them.”

The Chelsea boss also revealed that despite Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu leaving the pitch with injuries, neither is expected to miss any game time.