"Chelsea is back" - Enzo Maresca sends rivals warning after Southampton win
Enzo Maresca has sent a word of warning to Chelsea's Premier League rivals after their 5-1 demolition of Southampton on Wednesday night.
The Blues continued their fine start to the season, moving to second in the Premier League table, moving above Arsenal on goal difference.
With Liverpool dropping points away to Newcastle, Chelsea sit seven points behind the league leaders as they begin a hectic festive schedule.
The start of this period has gone well, with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa on the weekend followed up by victory over the Premier League's bottom side.
Goals from Axel Disasi, Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho saw Maresca's men come out victorious despite some much-needed rotation.
Maresca, who could be seen smiling and celebrating with Chelsea fans at full-time, has now sent a message to Chelsea's Premier League rivals.
Despite refusing to label his Chelsea side as title contenders this season, Maresca's men continue to prove that they have made significant progress.
Travelling fans at St Mary's were heard chanting a new song for their manager, as well as 'We've got our Chelsea back'.
When asked about these chants, Maresca sent a warning to those who doubt his side, saying: "You can see they are happy, that is our target, we work every day to keep them happy. Tonight was a very good feeling.
"They can see Chelsea is back and this is an important thing."
He continued to discuss the importance of his attackers, calling back to when he predicted that his forwards would be the ones to score a lot of goals this season.
"We said, if you remember the beginning of the season, the two wingers, attacking midfielders and the No.9 are in charge of the goals," he continued. "It's a good feeling all of them can be involved in the goals."
Next up for Chelsea is a trip to fierce London rivals Tottenham Hotspur as they look to pull even further clear in the race for the top four this season.
