NOTTINGHAM, England: Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had strong words for his team’s doubters after they secured their first Champions League berth in three seasons on Sunday (May 25), with the youngest team in Premier League history.
Levi Colwill struck in the second half in Chelsea’s 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest in a make-or-break final game of the campaign that saw Maresca’s team finish fourth, and left Forest in seventh with a Conference League berth next season.
The average age of Chelsea’s starting eleven this season was 24 years and 36 days – the youngest ever by a team in a single Premier League campaign, according to Opta Sports.
“I didn’t have any doubt about the players,” Maresca said. “I said that the doubt was from outside, all the ones (who think) that they have the answer, or all the ones that they have the truth, they were saying that we are too young. We are not good enough.
“They were saying that we were not able to win on this pitch because we’re too young, because we’re not experienced. And unfortunately for them, they have all been wrong.”
