Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has criticised Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca for playing down his team’s chances of winning the Premier League, labelling the approach as “stupid.”

Despite Chelsea sitting second in the league table after 17 games, just four points behind leaders Liverpool, Maresca has maintained a modest stance, naming Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City as the main contenders for the title.

Yorke, speaking to Sportskens.com, suggested that Maresca is deliberately avoiding title talk to shield his players from pressure. He explained:
“I think Enzo Maresca will say the same thing to the players. Why does he need to change what he’s saying? Why does he need to put extra pressure on the situation? Chelsea are winning games; they just need to keep doing what they’re doing. The message would be to take it game-by-game and keep winning as much as you can.”

However, Yorke expressed doubt about the effectiveness of this approach, adding:
“Maresca doesn’t need to say that his team is in the title race. He’d be stupid to say that because, at the end of the day, the players are seeing the results for themselves. Let’s just play dumb. ‘We’re not in it. We’re second in the league. We’re close,’ that’s it.”

Yorke believes Maresca should focus on consistency rather than public declarations:
“He doesn’t need to ask the players about it. He just needs to keep everything ticking over. Let’s see how they end up this season.”

Maresca’s Chelsea side has made significant strides since the Italian took charge in the summer, transforming into a formidable team in the league. However, they dropped points in a frustrating 0-0 draw against Everton on Sunday (December 22), leaving fans and pundits pondering whether their title aspirations will hold up as the season progresses.