Every word Enzo Maresca said on Chelsea win over Tottenham, Caicedo display, Joao Pedro problem

Enzo Maresca has just completed his post-match press conference following Chelsea's crucial victory over Tottenham this evening.

The Blues have moved back into the top four of the Premier League table with Joao Pedro's goal on 34 minutes proving to be enough. Maresca has just reflected on his side's significant win in his post-match presser and here is every word the head coach had to say:

Happy with the performance?

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In any case, I'm happy with the 1-0 and with the three points, especially because we kept the clean sheet, that I think is something that we need for the future. We know that we are a team that at the end we are going to score goals, but we need to do better defensively.

Tottenham finished with a 0.05 xG. Are you proud of how your team defended?

I think the performance was very good on the ball and off the ball. For sure the way we tried to press was very important, but I also think that our game against Liverpool off the ball was top game, was very good, and you need that. You need that if you want to be close to the top, you need to be defensively solid. As I said, we know that almost always score goals, but we need also to try to concede less goals.

Would you swap Moises Caicedo for anyone else in Europe at the moment?

Moi, I think he's showing how good he is. He's top, I said many times, the best thing from Moi for sure, we judge him inside the pitch, but he's so humble, he's so good guy, he's always there to help everyone. And I just said to the television that for me, him and Rodri, in this moment they are the two best defending midfielders in the world.

What did you make of Reece James' performance in midfield? What does he give you from midfield?

It depends a little bit on the game plan. I think today we needed a little bit more physicality in the middle. We expect them to play with Sarr, with Bentancur, with Palhinha. We didn't expect them with four midfielders, because then Bergvall also played. So we needed a little bit more physicality in the middle. But it depends a little bit on the game plan. I think Rhys is doing fantastic when he's playing midfielder, he's doing fantastic when he's playing full-back, and he's doing fantastic in terms of leadership with the players inside the changing room.

A confidence booster for Joao Pedro?

Joao has never been a problem. The problem with Joao is that he's not training every day, because he has problems. He has some problems that we are trying to manage. So it's normal that then the consequence is that you cannot be 100% and fit every game. But I'm not worried about Joao, because Joao is a good player, he's going to score goals. Even when he didn't score, he had some good games. For instance, against Liverpool, I think he was also very good. Now we have Liam [Delap] back, that also can help us as a striker. So we have already a different option, that is a good thing for us, because since we started we are without Cole [Palmer], we have been two months without Liam. So we need offensive players.