Enzo Maresca aims ‘PlayStation’ dig at Chelsea fans

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca hit back at what he perceived to be the unrealistic expectations of the club's own fanbase, insisting that winning Premier League matches is not as easy as a video game.

Maresca's impassioned rebuttal came after his side scraped and scratched their way to a 1-0 win at home to relegation-battling Leicester City on Sunday afternoon. A long-range, low-probability shot from Marc Cucurella earned the hosts three points to take them back into the Premier League's top four, yet the Stamford Bridge crowd spent much the contest bemoaning their team's insistence on patient passing football.

"The people have to understand this is our way, our style, and this is the way we are going to play," Maresca defiantly told his post-match press conference. "When a team creates the amount of chances we created, you have to be happy. It's not easy."

In an attempt to underscore how difficult it was to defeat Sunday's opponents, who sit 19th in the Premier League table, Maresca outlined: "Leicester, until minute 83, were 0-0 against Arsenal; the same thing happened against [Manchester] City. If you think football is just a PlayStation [game] and you win easy, no way - every game is difficult. The way the players have done is fantastic.

"We need our fans. On my Instagram, I said two days ago our Champions League [qualification] target will be with our fans supporting us, and especially when you play at home. We need them behind the players with the spirit they showed."

Chelsea fans staged a protest against the club's ownership before their previous home game - another stop-start victory over relegation strugglers Southampton. There was no organised march or expletive banners this weekend, but the boos at half-time and audible groans throughout told their own damning story.

The Blues will be back at Stamford Bridge on Thursday for the second leg of their Europa Conference League last-16 tie against Copenhagen before facing Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium next weekend. Victory in both those matches will bolster Maresca's argument that this has been a successful season for Chelsea, even if the style hasn't won many admirers.

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