“That’s our target” – Chelsea star contradicts his manager with latest comments | OneFootball

Malo Gusto has been pretty symbolic of this season under Enzo Maresca. Playing for Mauricio Pochettino, the Frenchman looked good. Playing for Maresca… not so much.

Still, he had the courage to speak to the Chelsea official website last night after a defeat, and had some interesting comments about how gutted he and the team were:

“As a team we are very disappointed as it was important for us to get closer to third position. It was disappointing. We will give everything to be there at the end of the season. We just have to keep pushing and do our best,” Gusto explained sadly after a second stinging defeat in a week to the Seagulls.

“It was about us and our performance. Now we have to come back into training and prepare in a good way for the next game. The most important thing is the reaction for the next game,’ he added. ‘We just need to give our best for the next few games. We just have to do better for the next game because it will be important for us to stay in the top four and that’s our target.”

Gusto and Maresca at odds over season aims

Malo Gusto’s heatmap compared to last season:

Enzo Maresca got in hot water for his comments about it being “positive” that Chelsea were out of the FA Cup, and then even more hot water when he seemed to move the goalposts and say he had only been told he needed to make the top 4 within the next two years.

Well, Gusto is making it very clear that everyone is in fact expecting it to happen this year, and quite right too. No matter what people thought in July, you can’t be a point off top at Christmas and finish outside the top 4 without serious questions being asked.