Enzo Maresca says Chelsea “are not happy” with their 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, emphasising that his side “don’t like losing games” and felt they controlled much of the match.
Despite having more possession and goal attempts (12), Curtis Jones’ second-half winner kept Arne Slot’s side top of the Premier League on Sunday, as Chelsea’s efforts went unrewarded.
Maresca’s side dominated for long spells but were undone by Jones’ decisive goal after Mohamed Salah had opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
Chelsea responded with a well-taken equaliser from Nicolas Jackson, but Jones’ strike proved the difference.
Despite the defeat, Maresca remained upbeat about his team’s display, praising their control of the game while admitting frustration at the result.
“I think the performance was very good,” Maresca said. “I just said, we don’t like losing games, dropping points but if you have to decide the way, then this is probably the way. I’ve been in the stadium many times and have seen Liverpool for a long time, it’s not easy.
“I think overall, we controlled the game and for most parts of the game we dominated the game, but we lost. We are not happy. We don’t like (it) but as I said, the performance on and off the ball was very good.”
Despite a strong finish from Chelsea, Liverpool held firm to maintain their position at the summit of the table with 21 points from eight games, one more than Manchester City, who also won earlier in the day against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are in sixth place on 14 points.
(Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images)