ENZO MARESCA blamed a moody Stamford Bridge for Chelsea’s flop against Ipswich as they stumbled in the Champions League race.
The Blues boss saw his side fall two goals behind against the relegation certainties on Sunday afternoon before rescuing a point in the second half.
And Maresca said his side abandoned their principles due to the “environment” in west London.
The Blues started fast but were hit with a sucker punch on 19 minutes when Julio Enciso grabbed a shock opener, before Ben Johnson doubled the lead just after half an hour.
An Axel Tuanzebe own goal and a stunner from Jadon Sancho rescued a point, but two points dropped invited further pressure in Chelsea’s unconvincing pursuit of a top five spot.
Chelsea handed possession over ahead of both goals by playing long balls, with the home fans prone to grumbling about their team playing out from the back.
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Maresca said: “We lost a little bit of confidence because we conceded, probably because of the environment.
“This is the moment that you have to continue doing the right things and don’t change plans.
“Also because we are a team that most of the time our goal kicks we start from playing short, the second goal we decide to play long because of the environment and we concede the second one.
“So you have to be strong, you have to continue with the things that you are doing.
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“In terms of fans, I said many times, we are stronger with our fans.
“We are a better team and it’s up to them to decide the way to be. Today probably, with the 0-1, 0-2, it’s normal to be in the way they were.
“In the moment that we are in, a difficult moment, you can expect that they are not happy.
“But in the same moment, it is the moment that we need more support.”
Kieran McKenna was disappointed to see his side concede twice after going ahead, but the travelling fans gave them a huge ovation after full-time.
We lost a little bit of confidence because we conceded, probably because of the environment.
Enzo Maresca
The Ipswich boss is also concerned about Jaden Philogene, after the January signing “opened the side of his knee up” and had to be helped off minutes after coming on as a substitute.
McKenna said: “It looks like a blow, no doubt.
“He’s opened up the inside of his knee, so it’ll be scanned. It’s usually the MCL that gets some damage in that sort of tackle.
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“He had one on his left side last season, so we’ll get it scanned and see how he is.
“We’ll be hoping that the damage isn’t too bad.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
