Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca heaped praise on his side’s display against Bayern Munich, even though the Blues suffered a 3-1 defeat in their Champions League opener.
While admitting Bayern’s quality, Maresca insisted his players showed plenty of promise—especially in the second half when they created several dangerous opportunities.
He stressed, however, that Chelsea must learn to sustain their intensity for the full 95 minutes, as their energy visibly dipped late on.
Cole Palmer, Chelsea’s goalscorer on the night, echoed his manager’s assessment. The forward felt the team deserved more from the contest but admitted lapses in focus and missed chances ultimately proved costly.
Still, Palmer remained upbeat, pointing out that Chelsea demonstrated they could hold their own against one of the competition’s strongest sides.
Bayern striker Harry Kane, who netted twice including a superb finish into the far corner, hailed his team’s display, commending their relentless pressing and sharp movement on and off the ball.
The defeat leaves Chelsea with a tough path ahead, starting with a must-win home clash against Benfica. With Barcelona and challenging trips to Italy also on the horizon, Maresca’s men will need to sharpen up quickly to keep their hopes of progression alive.
After the match, Maresca voiced frustration with the referee’s call to book Jonathan Tah for his foul on Joao Pedro, arguing it merited a red card.
Even so, the Italian stayed positive about Chelsea’s potential, highlighting the squad’s pace, mobility, and raw talent as reasons to remain confident moving forward.
The contest underlined both the energy and inexperience of Chelsea’s young squad. Mistakes were costly, but the signs of growth were clear.
With Benfica up next, the challenge will be to apply Maresca’s key lesson: “We need to learn to play for 95 minutes.” Whether the Blues can rise to that demand will define their Champions League journey.
