'It was worth it!' - Enzo Maresca happy to be shown red card for Liverpool celebrations as Chelsea manager opens up on 'pressure' of Stamford Bridge job

Facing the possibility of going four Premier League games without a victory, teenager Estevao popped up with a crucial winner in Chelsea’s last-gasp triumph over Liverpool on Saturday, 4 October. The Brazil international scored his first league goal for the club as he prodded home at the back post in the fifth minute of added time. And the goal sparked incredible scenes of jubilation in west London with manager Maresca getting caught up in the moment as he hugged his players near the corner flag.

And as a result of sprinting down the touchline to celebrate with his players in front of the delighted Chelsea faithful, Maresca was sent off by referee Anthony Taylor for his second bookable offence of the evening. And now the Italian will serve a suspension when Chelsea travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, 18 October, following the resumption of the Premier League after the international break.

But when speaking at the Trento Sports Festival, Maresca refused to be self-critical for letting his emotions get the better of him, insisting his celebration was an “instinctive” reaction to Chelsea securing a rare, late victory under his stewardship.

In quotes carried by Gianluca Di Marzio, Maresca told the festival: “It was a huge emotion (against Liverpool). It's my second season at Chelsea and it was the first time we won at home in the last minute. The sending-off? (I’ve said) many times, football is passion, instinct. I probably didn't have time to think. It was an instinctive reaction, but I think it was worth it.”

Maresca also opened up about the pressure of managing Chelsea, a club who won every major honour available to them under Roman Abramovich before Todd Boehly reshaped the club after his takeover in 2022. Following in the footsteps of compatriots Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte, Roberto Di Matteo, Gianluca Vialli, Claudio Ranieri and Maurizio Sarri, Maresca says it was a huge relief to not become the only Italian to fail to lead Chelsea to silverware by lifting both the Conference League and the Club World Cup last season.

“It's one of the most important clubs in the world,” Maresca continued. “In the last three or four years, for various reasons, it (Chelsea) has struggled. Having brought the club back to a great level is a great satisfaction. When I signed for Chelsea, I felt a bit of pressure of being the only Italian not to win here, but fortunately, that hasn't been the case.”

Chelsea will return to action when they head to troubled Forest next weekend, before taking on Ajax in their next Champions League clash on Wednesday, 22 October. Maresca’s men bounced back from losing 3-1 to German giants Bayern Munich in their opening fixture in Europe’s premier club competition by defeating Benfica 1-0 on September 30. The match saw former manager Jose Mourinho return to Stamford Bridge, having managed Chelsea between 2004 and 2007 and again between 2013 and 2015.