Chelsea are ahead of Enzo Maresca's own expectations

Today at 03:21 AM

And still with much room to improve

Chelsea's impressive 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday has pushed the narrative needle into some dangerously positive territory. The vibes, the results, the football itself are all good. And next up are only the worst team in the league.

I'm sure we've all tasted the bitter gutpunch that such situations can sometimes produce. The football gods often have a rather impish sense of humor. It doesn't take much to have a bad day, for the mood to turn, for the vibes to drop in this social media-driven world of ours.

Head coach Enzo Maresca has spent much of the week trying to reel it all back in. The next game is always the most dangerous, the most important game ... and that's certainly true in this case.

Still, even Maresca himself has had to admit that his young Blues are making excellent progress, and perhaps at a slightly faster pace than even he was expecting.

"In terms of expectation, we are ahead of my expectation in the way we are playing and for sure, in terms of results. We started four or five months ago. It is very early, a short time together. The best feeling I have is that there is many, many things we can do better and we are in the right direction."

"[...] Because of the age, and how good the squad is, for me Chelsea in the next five or 10 years will be one of the teams, or the team, that will dominate English football. I said this to the [club's owners] the first time I met them, no matter who the manager will be. Because of the age, because of the squad, you can dominate English football. I still think exactly the same [but] the only thing they asked me was to try and build something important for the next years. I think we are in the right direction.

"[However] I'm focused on Southampton, for sure, but I'm not focused about end of the season, next season, two seasons because it is not real."

-Enzo Maresca; source: Football.London

Maresca is clearly worried about a letdown after Sunday's high. Of course it's part of his job is to ensure that doesn't happen in the first place, but at the end of the day, all he can do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Hopefully!