Enzo Maresca says Chelsea cannot dwell on the wins they threw away earlier in the Premier League season and must now embrace their three ‘finals’ to get into the Champions League, starting with Newcastle away.
Maresca’s side travel to St James’ Park for a Sunday 12pm showdown which will go some way to revealing who will secure a top-five finish.
While Maresca has regrets over their blip in the second half of the season, including twice failing to beat Ipswich and falling short to Everton, Crystal Palace and others, he insists it is now in their hands to finish strongly.
‘The frustration is that we had many games where we created enough chances to win the game and we didn’t,’ Maresca said.
‘But now is not the moment to think about that. Now is the moment to try to win as much as we can in these last three games and then we’ll see.
‘Also in terms of data, if you see the xG, chances missed, I think we could have some more points.
Enzo Maresca says Chelsea have three ‘finals’ left in their bid for the Champions League
Chelsea beat Djurgarden on Thursday night to book a spot in the Conference League final
Chelsea’s next Premier League action is against Newcastle United this coming Sunday
‘But now it is what it is and we need to win the games that we have.
‘We have 20 days to prepare for the [Conference League final]. Before that we have three more Premier League finals.’
Maresca declined to say how many points were needed to ensure they secure Champions League football, adding: ‘We’re going to try win the three games we have.
‘How many points we do we need to finish in the top five? No idea. It depends on the other results.
‘We need to be focused on us and try to win the three games.
‘If it’s one or two, we don’t know, but the focus is to try to win the three games we have.’
