Updated29. August 2024, 13:23
Football: For the Chelsea coach, “Servette has a very clear game”
The Chelsea manager has spoken – a little bit – about his opponent this Thursday, in the return leg of the Conference League. Even if that is not really what interests the Blues.
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Valentin Schnorr
Enzo Maresca is probably thinking a little more about the upcoming Premier League match against Crystal Palace than the one in Geneva this Thursday.
AFP
Servette can put all the good will it hears into it: Chelsea has no real reason to be interested in the case of the Grenat. This was already the case last week in London, and it was again in Geneva, on the eve of the Conference League return match, Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at La Praille.
So, the English press quite easily ignored the ambitions of Thomas Häberli and Timothé Cognat. “We didn’t lose 4 or 5-0 in the first leg, but only 2-0,” the Servette midfielder recalled at midday. “We could certainly have scored a goal, which would have given us a better chance of qualifying, but things can happen very quickly. If we score quickly, things can get heated, and we’re going to give it our all to get that qualification.”
Not sure that this will make the Blues tremble. And this despite a first leg where they were not always as calm as they could have imagined. Of course, in the meantime, they beat Wolverhampton 6-2, a way of reminding us that their attacking potential has no limits. And that their coach Enzo Maresca can have fun changing his team without too much worry. He certainly has in mind to line up the best possible team against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday, while ensuring the meeting at La Praille three days before.
The Italian had made things clear last week, stressing that he only works with about twenty players, and too bad if his official contingent includes forty. So, it does not bother him to leave out Raheem Sterling, for example. This remains a case that concerns Chelsea followers, even if the message is clear: he will not return to the team. We should not count on him at La Praille on Thursday. This will also be the case for Reece James and Romeo Lavia, who are injured, as well as for Pedro Neto and Malo Gusto who were left in London.
Praise for Servette
Let’s be honest: what really excites Chelsea’s entourage are the individual cases, linked to the transfer window. Moreover, the closing of the latter on Friday raises a lot of questions: will the Blues sign yet another player? The name of Victor Osimhen has been mentioned, for example.
And Thursday’s match? It took the Swiss press to worry about it for Maresca to dwell on it: “I wasn’t surprised by Servette’s performance in the first leg, because I had watched several matches,” he assures. “They’re a team that plays a very clear game. They try to find their striker Crivelli with long balls, to be active on the second ball. And they are very aggressive in the defensive phase. We will have to be 100% ready for Thursday’s match. I think it will be a very tough match.”
A word on the pitch? “I saw it, it’s not good. But we’ll have to adapt immediately, otherwise it will be very complicated.” That’s all Servette wishes for him.
