Enzo Maresca Excludes Chelsea From Premier League Title Race Despite Strong Start

The Italian voluntarily excluded his club from the title race with 25 games to go in his first season as Blues manager.

Enzo Maresca has Chelsea third in the table through 13 games in his first season. / IMAGO/IPA Sport

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca stuck to his laurels in his latest pre-match press conference saying the club is not in the title race.

Liverpool opened up a nine point gap with the rest of the pack after dismantling Manchester City over Thanksgiving weekend. The gap from Liverpool to Man City is even greater at 11 through 13 games this season. With 25 games remaining, Maresca isn't changing his tune despite one of the most exciting title races brewing in the background. When asked if Chelsea wasn't in the title race after the weekend's results, Maresca confidently answered: "Absolutely."

Chelsea is not only level on points with second place Arsenal (25), but it also has the same goals scored and conceded. Yet, the manager iterated a clear distinction between his club and its London rival. He even went a step further to dissuade people from thinking that he's just keeping pressure off of his players. Though, he could just be doing that considering Chelsea's squad is still very young and Maresca would be better off flying under the radar given the struggles of his predecessors.

"They have been there in the last two years very close to City, and we were very far to City. I said to be in the title race is nice pressure. For me, and for the players. But it's not our case," Maresca said in his pre-match press conference. "Hopefully soon, we can be there."

Title race talk in December is usually premature. So much can happen early on and no one is counting out the reigning champion despite a winless streak of seven matches in all competitions. Expectations coming into the season for Liverpool and Chelsea didn't involve the title, but expectations can change throughout a season.

Both clubs got new managers, one on the verge of potentially a culture/squad shift and the other looking for some consistency with a bloated squad. Still, Slot has the Reds atop the table and Maresca has Chelsea tied as the closest challenger heading into a busy December. Things could look much different come the new year. Top four would be considered a success for both clubs given their relative situations coming into the season.

If the gaps widen or shrink, expectations will change as we head into the second half of the season.

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