Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has claimed that his young squad need experiences such as the one at Legia Warsaw on Thursday evening if they are to develop as players.
The Blues head into the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final with the Polish giants as the clear favourites to win the competition.
However, their hosts have made a habit of impressing at the Polish Army Stadium, particularly in this tournament with Aston Villa, AZ Alkmaar, Real Betis and Molde among the clubs that they have defeated over the past 17 months.
As a result, Maresca and his Chelsea squad will take nothing for granted on what is the club’s first-ever competitive fixture in Poland.
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Maresca comments on Warsaw atmosphere
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday evening, Maresca was quizzed several times on his expectations for the atmosphere, it being billed as intimidating by the media.
While Maresca is respectful of the environment that his players may face, he has called on his squad to embrace the occasion as they bid to make the next step in their development.
The Italian told reporters, as quoted by football.london: “First of all we try to show them also some of the environment in this stadium so they can adapt, they can be ready tomorrow.
“But fortunately, you know better than me, in England almost everywhere the environment is good, it’s nice. For sure, tomorrow will be even more, but I always said the same that the players, they are lucky, they have to think that they are lucky to experience that kind of games and that kind of moment.”
He added: “We try always to give them the big picture, not only what they can do on the ball, what they can do off the ball.
“Sometimes you also need to show them where you go because we have players from different parts of the world, so probably some of them they don’t know exactly. So we show them also some of the environment in this stadium.”
In response to a third question, Maresca said: “We need to experience this kind of games, this kind of moment, that for sure after tomorrow’s game we are going to be a better team because we need that. As you said, we are very young but in the same moment we need this kind of games to improve.”
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How are Legia Warsaw faring in Poland’s top flight?
On the back of last season’s third-placed finish, Legia Warsaw have dropped off further in the Ekstraklasa, only sitting fifth and 12 points adrift of the leaders.
However, they have not lost a home fixture in the league since the middle of September, putting together an eight-match unbeaten run.
Their only blip at home in this season’s Conference League is a 2-1 defeat to Swiss side Lugano in December. That is the solitary time in five such matches where they have conceded a goal.
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