Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has revealed that the team is going in the right direction despite the shock 2-0 defeat to Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Monday.
The Blues have failed to win their last three Premier League games with a draw against Everton, and two consecutive defeats against Fulham, and Ipswich Town to slip to fourth on the log.
Maresca made five changes to the side that lost to Fulham with Philip Jorgensen, Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke, and Axel Disasi starting in a move geared towards rotation.
Chelsea dominated the encounter but conceded an early penalty when Jorgensen brought down Delap, who scored from the spot to give Ipswich Town a 1-0 lead.
João Felix’s goal was ruled out for offside, and Palmer’s free kick hit the woodwork as the visitors rallied to find their way back into the game.
Former Chelsea young star, Omari Hutchinson scored the second goal against his former club in the 53rd minute to condemn Chelsea to their fourth defeat of the season.
Maresca believes the team is going in the right direction despite their mini slump.
He said: “We expected this kind of moment during the season because we know that this kind of moment belongs to football. It is almost impossible to have a season where you do not have a moment like now for us.
“Not one of us in this room expected us to be where we are now. This means and shows that we are in the right direction, as I’ve said many times, but also shows that we are far from competing [with] consistency and to be there with the best teams in England.
“I think we [have] to be satisfied with where we are but at the same time we need to know we [can] do things better.
Chelsea are now 10 points behind table-toppers Liverpool, Maresca has reiterated once again that he is not focused on the Premier League title race.
He said: “We focus game by game. We are not focused on the title race or those things.
“We made four changes from the last game because they all deserve to play. Now we’ve finished the first part of the season, no one expected us to be where we are.
“We are in a good position but we can do many things better. It’s a long race.”
The Italian manager described the encounter as a strange game after Chelsea recorded 20 shots on goal in total, their most attempts without scoring in a Premier League away game since December 2017 (25 against Everton).
He said: “It was a bit of a strange game. We created so many chances in the first half and in the first five or 10 minutes of the second half, we had two clear chances; the header from Joao [Felix] and another shot.
“Then I think the second goal killed the game a little bit. Sometimes when you create so many chances, the post, the VAR, the ‘keeper saves or the defenders that block the shot, sometimes it has to go in that way.
“It’s a shame because it was another chance for us but congratulations to them because probably when you save so many shots on the line, the goalkeeper, the body, the desire from them was very high.”
Chelsea will begin 2025 with a trip to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace on Saturday.