Chelsea, who will face Djurgården of Sweden in the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final tomorrow, must host Liverpool on Sunday. The match against Liverpool is crucial for Chelsea, who are fighting for a Premier League spot, but Maresca said reaching the Europa Conference League final is more important for him and Chelsea, so he will not rest his key players in tomorrow’s match.

Match against Djurgården of Sweden?
It’s a beautiful moment because we can reach a final. Since we started playing in the Europa Conference League, we said we would take it step by step, match by match. Now we have reached the most critical days. Our only goal is to reach the final.

How much do you know about this unknown Swedish opponent?
I watched six of their matches in the Swedish league and the Europa Conference League. Analyzing Djurgården is not easy because they have many different players. Of course, the quality of their pitch also plays a role.

Will you rest your key players for the Liverpool match?
The fact that we have a match against Liverpool is one of the concerns. But no, we will not rest players for Sunday’s match. This is a European competition, and we want to be in the final.

Is Chelsea hopeful for success in the Premier League next season?
We are trying to build a mentality for Chelsea: a winning mentality. You build this mentality gradually, and of course, to build this mentality, you need one thing: winning matches. That’s the only way. When you win matches one after another, this mentality gradually builds in the team.