Chelsea’s head coach Enzo Maresca admitted that he was “a little worried” about the impact of Djurgarden’s artificial impact on his players in the semi-final of the Thursday conference league.
The blues go to Sweden to face a team currently seated 11th in the Swedish elite. The Maresca team was largely imperative in the third level of Europe competition this season this season, achieving itself through nine consecutive victories before losing surprisingly against LEGIA Warspier in the quarter -floor in the quarterfinals.
Although he recognized the danger of slipping into the complacency, Maresca’s main concern was the artificial terrain. “It is sure that it can be a concern,” admitted the sub-press boss of Chelsea. “I am a little worried about it. But we are not at a time when we can say that we decide to save the players for Sunday. It’s a semi-final, it’s a European competition and we want to be in the final.
“It’s completely different [playing on an artificial pitch]. I know that in recent weeks, even some of their players have complained about the field. They play every week, so for us, that’s another.
“But there is no excuse, no reason why we are not going to compete tomorrow and the second match at all.”
Djurgarden manager Jani Honkavaara is not a fan of the “horrible” field either. “It’s really difficult for us and our opponents. We get nothing more,” he sighed in April. Norwegian winger Tokmac Nguen added: “The ball moves away all the time from your foot.
The club striker, August Priske, described him as “Pitch S **** Y” after the quarter -finals of the conference League.
Pedro Neto de Chelsea took a more optimistic tone: “To be honest, when I was younger in Portugal, I played on these locations. I even played on the sand sometimes! Of course, I have not played on a long, but we will train this evening and be prepared for tomorrow.”
