Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Chelsea will perform a guard of honour for newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool when the two sides clash on Sunday – a gesture rooted in football tradition, and a moment that will spark mixed emotions for Blues fans.

“Yes. It’s tradition. We have to do that, and we are going to do that,” Maresca said in Friday’s press conference. “They won the Premier League, so they deserve it.”

While the moment will symbolise respect, it also highlights the gulf between Chelsea and the league’s best—a gap Maresca admits is clear, but not unbridgeable.

“In terms of the gap (between Chelsea and Liverpool), it is there, you can see this clearly. My feeling is we are (moving) in the right direction and hopefully this gap can be smaller and smaller and smaller.”

Chelsea’s inconsistencies have cost them this season, and Maresca wasn’t shy in admitting that Liverpool’s edge comes down to more than just points on the board.

“The difference is they have been consistent compared to us. For part of the season, we were very good, then we lost some games,” he noted.

“This has probably been the main reason why. And also in terms of experienced players that know how to win games and these kinds of things, I think they have something more compared to us.”

Liverpool have now secured their second Premier League title in five years, with four games still to play. Back in 2020, Chelsea also had to form a guard of honour for the Reds after their previous title triumph.

For Chelsea, this Sunday will be about more than tradition—it will be a reminder of the level the Blues are striving to reach. But Maresca remains hopeful that the hard work being done behind the scenes will soon translate into consistent results on the pitch.