Soccer Football - Carabao Cup - Quarter Final - Cardiff City v Chelsea - Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - December 16, 2025 Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca celebrates after the match with Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Dec 17 (Reuters) - Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he is happy at the club after they booked a spot in the League Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win at Cardiff City on Tuesday, just days after he had voiced his frustrations over behind-the-scenes issues at the club.
Maresca had said after Saturday's 2-0 Premier League home win over Everton, which ended a run of four games without a win, that he had been through "the worst 48 hours" of his time at the club and complained about a lack of support.
At the final whistle on Tuesday, however, Maresca was celebrating with the crowd as they chanted his name after a brace from Alejandro Garnacho and a goal from Pedro Neto put his side into the last four.
"I'm just happy, we're going to play another semi-final and I think it's what the fans deserve," he told reporters.
"It was a great moment. In some moments when you don't win games, they have been not happy, but it's normal. But overall, the fans have always been there.
"These are the kind of games that I fall in love even more with the players because you cannot imagine how easy it is to slip, to slide, because they are tricky games," added Maresca, who declined to elaborate on his comments from the weekend.
"I didn't speak with anyone. I didn't speak, no it's OK," Maresca said. "I always said that I've been happy since day one. So it's not that tonight I'm not happy."
Chelsea, who are fourth in Premier League and eight points behind leaders Arsenal, will next travel to Newcastle United on Saturday.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
