'That is PlayStation' - Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca responds to Carlo Ancelotti praise as he pleads for patience ahead of Premier League season

Ancelotti dished out the praise when asked about Maresca on John Obi Mikel's podcast recently. "Experience is not the most important part of our job; it's part of our job, of course, but the most important part is the knowledge," the 65-year-old said. "And the fact that he has experience with [Pep] Guardiola and with Leicester City, I think he has the knowledge to manage and to do well at Chelsea."

Maresca, who replaced Mauricio Pochettino at the helm of the west London outfit in June, responded ahead of his side's meeting with Ancelotti's Real Madrid in the United States.

Things have been patchy for Maresca and Chelsea so far in pre-season. They kicked things off by drawing with League One side Wrexham and were beaten by Celtic and Manchester City, shipping four goals in both defeats. Chelsea owner Todd Boehly hasn't been afraid to pull the trigger since purchasing the club in 2022 but new boss Maresca wants time to get the Blues competing for major trophies again.

"This is a process. You cannot think after a month that everything is going to work in the right way," the 44-year-old said, per Chelsea's website.

"I really appreciated Carlo’s words. I worked under Carlo and his career is something unbelievable. He knows better than me and better than many, many people in this business, the way to reach something important.

"I worked with Carlo when he was near enough my age in this moment and he was sacked by Juventus but at the end, it is not something magic that you can reach in two days. That is something different. That is PlayStation, not football."

Maresca added: "Day-by-day, you need to work and you need time and I know most head coaches ask for time and it sounds like an excuse but it is not an excuse, it is the reality."

Maresca and Ancelotti have known each other for more than 20 years. In 2000, Ancelotti was in charge of Juventus and he wanted a young, versatile midfielder, so he signed Maresca from West Brom.

The Chelsea head coach will hope to see some improvement from his players when they take on Real Madrid in Charlotte. It's the Blues' penultimate friendly before they face Manchester City - and Maresca's old mentor Guardiola - in their first Premier League game of 2024-25.