Enzo Maresca understands fan frustrations but is convinced Chelsea are showing 'proof' of progress ahead of Conference League quarter-final second leg

Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge when they take on Legia Warszawa in the second leg of their UEFA Conference League quarter-final. The last time they left their home stadium, Enzo Maresca's team were greeted by booing from supporters after being held to a 2-2 draw by Ipswich. The Chelsea boss sat down with TNT Sports to talk about the importance of the fans staying behind the team.

Enzo Maresca has urged Chelsea’s supporters to stick with his team as he believes there is "proof" of their progress this season.

Some sections of Stamford Bridge booed the team off at both half-time and full-time as they could only draw 2-2 with Premier League relegation strugglers Ipswich, who took a shock 2-0 lead.

The Blues are currently sixth in the top flight, two points behind fourth-placed Newcastle, with the race for UEFA Champions League qualification hotting up as the end of the season draws closer.

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Maresca’s side are back in front of their home fans for the second leg of their UEFA Conference League quarter-final against Legia Warszawa - which you can watch live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

With a 3-0 lead, Chelsea are expected to ease their way into the semi-finals of the competition, but Maresca knows his team must give their supporters more to shout about.

"Sometimes, we need to be able to engage the people, the fans, because we need the fans," the Chelsea boss told TNT Sports.

"They are the main part of any club in the world, so we need them. 

"Last Sunday, we were not good enough in some moments of the game to engage them, so they were right. 

"Probably, we need to do better things to engage them because we know when we are able to engage them, they are an extra player for us."

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Asked if he has a message for the fans ahead of their next European outing, Maresca said: "Support the team, support the players. See, in any case, the team is improving. 

"Trust the team because this season, we spent almost all of our season in the top four, top five [in the Premier League]. We have been there all season, so there is proof that we are improving and that is important."

'We were a bit surprised about the fans'

Chelsea defender Malo Gusto has admitted that the Stamford Bridge booing caught him off guard following the Ipswich game.

Malo Gusto

Image credit: Getty Images

"For us, we were a bit surprised about the fans this weekend, but it’s our job to make the fans behind us, for sure," Gusto told TNT Sports.

"We have to give them the desire to support us and that’s what we’re going to do for the next game and until the end of the season."

Chelsea’s style of play this season has been criticised in some quarters, and Gusto said that although entertaining football is important, it is not the priority.

"We are Chelsea, so the most important thing for us is to win every game. After that, we can continue to build something between us as a team and with the fans.

"It’s very important to have them behind us until the end of the season."

Maresca not taking risks with team selection

Maresca says he will play a strong line-up in the second leg against Legia Warszawa because their 3-0 lead is "not enough".

The Italian said: "It’s good, but it’s not enough in terms of we have 90 more minutes tomorrow, and hopefully we can reach the semi-finals."

Throughout the competition, the Chelsea boss has used the UEFA Conference League as an opportunity to rotate his squad and give game time to fringe and youth players.

Indeed, teenage Tyrique George scored his first senior goal to help his team to victory in the first leg in Poland.

"You have to manage players, you have to manage minutes. Overall, I think, until now, we did that quite well," Maresca said.

"We always try to prepare the game in our best way, with our best players for that game.

"Tomorrow, we are going to try to prepare the game with our best eleven."

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Asked if progression to the semi-finals will prove a moment to toast, Maresca said: "We like to celebrate step-by-step. 

"We are working now to reach the semi-finals, so the moment we reach the semi-finals, we are happy.

"But it’s not enough. In the moment we reach the semi-final, our target is to reach the final, so it’s step by step."

How to watch Chelsea v Legia Warszaw

Chelsea take on Legia Warszaw at 20:00 UK time on April 17.

You can watch the game on TNT Sports 4, with coverage starting at 19:00.

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.

You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

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