Chelsea were on top in the first half and created a number of dangerous openings but ended up going into the break behind after a misplaced pass allowed Jarrod Bowen to score.

The Blues responded well though and after substitute Pedro Neto equalised from close range following Enzo Fernandez's blocked shot, ten minutes later Cole Palmer's deflected strike looped over Alphonse Areola for what proved to be the deciding goal.

‘The important thing is the performance. We completely deserved to win the game,' Maresca said.

‘I was very happy, especially because I think tonight’s game was the toughest game in terms of mentally because in this moment, when teams come here and they just sit back and wait for our mistake, there is no space to attack, you need to be patient.

‘In the first half, we tried and we played on the opponent’s side but there was no space - 11 players [behind the ball], with Jarrod Bowen marking Caicedo, they just allowed us to play with Tosin on the ball. So they tried to frustrate us and you need to be mentally strong.

‘Even with that, in the first half we had four or five clear chances where unfortunately we missed the target and then we conceded the goal from our mistake. This is the reason why I said you have to be mentally strong because my message at half-time was don’t change anything, continue in the same way, because they cannot be so intense for 95 minutes, it is impossible because they were just running behind the ball.

‘Second half, we found a little bit more space and also the subs from the bench were very good. So I am very happy for that [reason].’