Chelsea boss Maresca aims dig at Man Utd that Ratcliffe is in agreement with

Ruben Amorim has had a full week to prepare his Manchester United side for their Premier League clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford on Saturday, and Enzo Maresca has spoken out ahead of the game

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has aimed a subtle dig at Manchester United ahead of their Premier League clash. The Blues travel to Old Trafford on Saturday evening as they look to bounce back from disappointment in the Champions League.

Chelsea were in European action on Wednesday night as they took on Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. An own goal from Trevoh Chalobah and a Harry Kane brace saw Bayern come out as 3-1 winners with Cole Palmer on the scoresheet for Chelsea.

While Maresca’s men were in midweek action, a lack of European football at Old Trafford this season means that Ruben Amorim’s team have had extra time to both prepare for the game against Chelsea and recover from any knocks in their squad. It could potentially be seen as an advantage going into the weekend’s game.

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When asked about the situation during his pre-match press conference, Maresca appeared to aim a dig at United. “If you ask me, I prefer to play the Champions League game, no doubt,” he said.

“But at the same time, the reality is that they have one entire week to prepare the game. And we played a game two days ago, 48 hours ago. But again, I prefer to play the Champions League games.”

One person who would seemingly be in full agreement with the Chelsea boss over wanting to see his team in Champions League action is United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. TalkSPORT claim that during a meeting with Amorim this week, Ratcliffe stressed that on-field results need to be improved.

It is added that the co-owner believes that the current squad is now good enough to challenge for a top-five finish this season. Bringing European football back to United next season is seen as essential by United chiefs, although the Champions League is not said to be the essential aim by the end of the season – as much as Ratcliffe will want to see United back among Europe’s elite.

Qualification for any form of European football is viewed as the bare minimum for Amorim to get, or he could face serious repercussions.

The lack of European football this season will be a big financial blow to United. Given a big transfer spend in the summer, a return to the European stage this time next season is something that is likely to be expected.

The team currently sit in 14th place in the Premier League table. Last weekend’s 3-0 loss against rivals Man City piled the pressure on Amorim.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Amorim outlined what was said in the meeting with Ratcliffe this week. “New contract, he was offering me a new contract,” he said with a smile.

“No, it’s normal things, just to show the support, explaining that it’s a long project. He said many times, ‘This is my third season.’ For me, it’s not. But normal things.

“I spoke with him, with [CEO] Omar [Berrrada], with [director of football] Jason [Wilcox], just trying to see all the data around the team. So, a normal meeting, and we had several, but in this moment, it’s normal that people pay attention to that.”

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