The Blues travel to Goodison Park on Sunday off the back of five consecutive Premier League victories. It is the first time we have managed such a successful run in the competition since 2019. Meanwhile, we have remained flawless in Europe, avoiding any upsets to cement the feel-good factor around the Bridge.

What is behind our success? That question was put to Maresca in the build-up to our next assignment, at Everton.

‘It’s the players,’ he replied.

‘You can coach them the way you want but if they are not open-minded or if they don’t understand what I require, it becomes complicated. So first of all, it’s them.

‘Then it’s a mix of things: the club, the coaching staff, the players. It’s all important that we share the same vision and sometimes that isn’t easy. But that [the shared vision] is the reason why.’

Marc Cucurella has been one of many star performers in recent weeks. The Spaniard has netted in each of our past two games, making the most of the advanced role Maresca wants him to take up at the right moments in games. Suspended for this weekend’s match, he will be missed.

‘Sometimes it’s more about understanding the position and the game. Marc is doing very well and in the last two games has scored two goals. In the previous game, when he was playing as a winger against Leicester, he also did very well.

‘But it’s not only about Marc. The players are all understanding more where they have to be to receive the ball and where they have to move on the pitch. So we are really happy.’