Maresca hails Palmer's big-game brilliance after Club W. Cup victory
What you need to know:
- It was a surprise lopsided affair as Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer poured in two goals in eight minutes in the first half and assisted striker Joao Pedro in another score before the break.
East Rutherford. Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca praised Cole Palmer's ability to rise to the occasion after the English attacking midfielder was named Club World Cup player of the tournament following their commanding 3-0 victory over Paris St Germain in Sunday's final.
"These are the games we expect Cole Palmer to appear and once again he showed what he is made of," Maresca told a press conference after Palmer scored twice and provided an assist to Joao Pedro in their title-winning performance against the Champions League winners.
Maresca revealed his tactical masterplan had worked to perfection, with Chelsea pressing PSG high and exploiting direct plays behind their rivals' defense to devastating effect.
"The idea was go man-to-man because if you leave spaces to PSG they will kill you, so we tried to be very aggressive and suffocate them early on and that intensity was crucial in the first 10 minutes due to the scorching heat, that was really difficult conditions to play as the game progresses," Maresca explained.
The Italian coach highlighted how his team had successfully targeted PSG's vulnerable flank, adding: "We had a lot of success exploring the left side of their defence, things worked perfectly for us due to the effort the players put." Maresca praised his players for deploying perfectly the gameplan he had in mind, with their high-intensity approach proving decisive in the sweltering New Jersey conditions, saying that he is delighted to win a Club World Cup he thinks will be seen much differently in the future.
"I feel that this competition [the Club World Cup] will be as important as or even more important than the Champions League," Maresca said. "I was lucky enough to be part of a coaching staff [at Manchester City] that won the Champions League three years ago, but this competition [the Club World Cup] features the best clubs in the world.
That's why we value it as much as the Champions League, or perhaps even more. For us, it was a great triumph. Allowing Chelsea fans to wear that world champion patch on their shirts is a source of pride for us."
Luis Enrique says he regrets post-match scuffle at Club World Cup final
Paris St Germain manager Luis Enrique tried to play down shoving Chelsea forward Joao Pedro in a near brawl between players and coaching staff following Chelsea's dominating 3-0 win in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
The incident erupted when PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was arguing with Joao Pedro, before Luis Enrique appeared to raise his hands to the Brazilian's face.
Joao Pedro hit the deck and the PSG manager was quietly escorted away in remarkable scenes that saw players from both sides clash.
"At the end of the match, there was a situation that I believe could have been avoided by everyone," Luis Enrique said at a press conference after the match.
"My objective and my intention, as always, is to try to win over the players so that there are no more problems. Internally, there is a lot of tension, a lot of pressure."
The Spanish coach acknowledged the severity of the incident, adding: "And from there, there is a series of shoves from a lot of people, which I think we should all avoid and which should not happen again."
When it came to the match, however, he was left without answers after a brutal thrashing by Chelsea in a clash of European football's most powerful and richest clubs.
It was a surprise lopsided affair as Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer poured in two goals in eight minutes in the first half and assisted striker Joao Pedro in another score before the break.
Fans expected much more from the European Cup and French league champions that had once appeared unstoppable, cruising past Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-final stage of the expanded, 32-team tournament.
They finished the match with 10 men after Joao Neves was shown a red card in the 85th minute for violent conduct.
"Football - that's the way it is. Can't explain everything," said Luis Enrique. "I believe they actually started the game really, really well with a lot of pressure and we gave them a hard time. And then after that I believe they had opportunities to score but it didn't happen."
