CHELSEA MUST BE MORE CLINICAL, SAYS MARESCA

LONDON. — Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said his side must be more clinical after they conceded a late equaliser in a disappointing 1-1 Premier League draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Cole Palmer gave Chelsea a deserved first-half lead, but he and Nicolas Jackson missed good chances as they failed to kill the game off before Jean-Philippe Mateta’s late leveller for the hosts.

Chelsea have picked up just two points in a four-game winless run, leaving them nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool who have two games in hand — and looking over their shoulders in a close race for the Champions League spots.

Maresca, who had repeatedly talked down Chelsea’s title chances, was relatively pleased with a performance he thought should have earned his side all three points.

“Probably we did enough to win the game today,” Maresca told reporters. “Between the first half and second half, I think we created chances enough to win the game.

“But in football you need to be clinical, otherwise the game is always open.”

Maresca said he was encouraged by the number of chances Chelsea had created, as they also did in the 2-0 defeat at Ipswich Town on Monday.

“I always said that the important thing is to create chances, because if you create chances it means that you are doing the right things,” he said.

“Sometimes you create and you score. Sometimes you create one chance and you score one. And sometimes you need to create 10 to score two.”

Maresca was also full of praise for 18-year-old defender Joshua Acheampong, who looked assured on his first Premier League start.

“All the players for me, they were good today. But if I have to decide one, I think for sure Josh was our best player because of (his) age, because it was the first game (starting in the league).

“Josh, for me, can be a top player for this club. But he needs the right path, the right moment.

“With young players you have to decide in which moment and we decided today because we saw that he is ready. Today I think he showed how good he is.” — Reuters.