Dubai Telegraph - 'It's up to them': Maresca won't plead for Chelsea fans' backing

Blues boss Maresca and his players were jeered at half-time with Chelsea trailing 2-0 against third-bottom Ipswich.

Chelsea dominated the opening 20 minutes, but fell behind when Julio Enciso tapped in Ben Johnson's cutback against the run of play.

Johnson headed in Enciso's cross to double Ipswich's lead and turn the atmosphere toxic at Stamford Bridge.

That goal saw Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez ignore Maresca's preferred method of building the play from the back, choosing instead to punt the ball long, which led to Ipswich mounting their attack.

Although Chelsea fought back through an Axel Tuanzebe own goal and a stunning late effort from Jadon Sancho, the point did little to bolster their bid to qualify for the Champions League.

Chelsea sit in sixth place, one point behind fifth-placed Manchester City with six games left in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top five finish.

Maresca appeared to suggest supporters' frustrations with Chelsea's slow build-up play was what hurried Sanchez into playing a pass that led to his team conceding.

"We are a team that most of the time our goal-kicks we play short," said Maresca, who has previously said he would substitute players that did not carry out his instructions regarding playing out from the back.

"The second goal we decided to play long because of the environment and we conceded the second one.

"We conceded a goal when the players decided to play long ball, but sometimes if you go long it doesn't mean you are going to control things. The second goal we conceded was that."

Not for the first time in a difficult first season in charge for Maresca, boos cascaded down from the stands during an erratic Chelsea performance.

Chelsea are still in the hunt for Champions League qualification and hold a 3-0 lead after the first leg against Legia Warsaw in the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals.

The Italian stopped short of begging Chelsea fans to get behind their team, but admitted it would be a help to their chances.

"We are stronger with our fans, we are a better team. It's up to them to decide the way. When we were 0-1, 0-2, it's normal for them to be the way they were," he said.

G.Mukherjee--DT