Chelsea will face Qarabag in the Champions League; Maresca calls for meticulous attention to detail.
2025-11-05 03:06

Another key match in the fourth round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League will take place, with Premier League giants Chelsea traveling to Qarabag. Manager Maresca stated in a press conference that his team must pay better attention to detail to have a chance of winning the game.
In the third round of the Champions League, Chelsea secured a resounding 5-1 victory over Ajax, thanks to goals from Giou, Caicedo, Enzo, Estewan Willian, and Terrible George. Chelsea currently sit 13th in the Champions League standings with 6 points.
In addition, in an earlier Premier League match, Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 after João Pedro scored a goal.
Chelsea manager Maresca said, "It was important that we used a day to recover from the Tottenham game because we needed to use our facilities at home to give the players different treatments."
"Qarabag, like us, has won two games in the Champions League, and in the other game they were leading but ultimately lost."
Maresca also said, "They are an excellent team, and their organization and pressing are very intense. They will be a tough opponent, especially when playing at home, so it will be a difficult game."
“They beat Benfica and Copenhagen, and they also took the lead against Athletic Bilbao, but ultimately lost. I don’t think it’s about which team is the favorite, but about how we handle the details of the game.”
In addition, Maresca said, "Reece James is in great shape and is fully healthy. He's playing at a top level in every game, and even when he's not playing, his interactions with his teammates in the locker room are the same. I think he's ready to play three games a week. Of course, it also depends on how we use him."
“We won’t expect him to perform every game; that would be a burden for him, for Gusto, and for any full-back. So we’ll protect him during the game and relieve some pressure on him. However, he can handle three games a week.”
Maresca added, "For Lavia, the main goal now is to stay healthy and avoid further injury. Lavia is in a similar condition to Reece James a year ago, after a long period of absence and subsequent return. So we have to manage him carefully every day and in training, with the goal of keeping him healthy."
“Lavia is training with us now, he is doing well and is fully healthy, but we must be careful because we don’t want him to miss out again. We want him to enjoy being a player.”