'Chelsea fans have to trust us' - Maresca issues rallying cry to Blues' faithful

The Blues were jeered by some sections of Stamford Bridge during Sunday's draw with relegation-threatened Ipswich Town, in which they recovered from 2-0 down to rescue a point.

That was Chelsea's second successive Premier League stalemate, and saw them slip out of the Champions League qualifying positions to sixth place with six games remaining.

Nevertheless, Maresca's side are in a strong position to reach the Europa Conference League semi-finals, at 3-0 up against Legia Warsaw ahead of their second leg on Thursday.

And the Italian, whose tactics and insistence on playing out from the back has come under scrutiny in recent times, issued a rallying cry to the club's supporters.

The second leg of our #UECL quarter-final comes next.pic.twitter.com/PFqvadaATN

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 16, 2025

"The message [is] that with [the] fans [behind us], we are a better team," he told reporters during his pre-match press conference.

"I completely understand that, as a team, we have to engage our fans. That's something that, on Sunday, we were not able to do, especially for those 20 or 25 minutes. It is also on us to be good enough to engage our fans.

"I think we proved this season [that we are progressing], even if sometimes from the outside, it is difficult to see. But I think the fans have to trust us, the team and what the club is doing now.

"If in the last two seasons, Chelsea were not in the top four - and this season Chelsea were in the top four most of the year - that's big proof the team is improving and doing the right things.

"For me, is that enough? No, because I would like to fight for titles, fight for the Premier League and Champions League. It's quite clear that the direction and style is the right one.