Enzo Maresca feels Chelsea need to improve their intensity in training after failing to convert all but one chance in their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. Jean-Philippe Mateta salvaged a point for the hosts in the 82nd minute at Selhurst Park on Saturday, cancelling out Cole Palmer’s 14th-minute opener.

It was a fourth straight Premier League match without a win for Maresca’s men, who remain fourth and in the Champions League places, but with just one point more than fifth-placed Newcastle. “First of all, I always said that the important thing is to create chances,” said Maresca.

“If you create chances, that means you are doing the right things, and then you have to take those chances. Sometimes it’s football. Sometimes you create and you score. Sometimes you create one chance and you score one, sometimes you need to create 10 to score two.

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“This moment is like this. What we can do is to try to be even more intense during the week, when we prepare (for) the game, even if the intensity or the intention of the players is top.

“But for sure it’s something that probably we need to improve, thinking that we are one of the two or three best teams in scoring goals in this moment.” Chelsea next host Morecambe in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, when Maresca hopes Romeo Lavia will be back at his disposal.

Maresca agrees having a week to prepare will feel like a welcome chance to regroup at the end after playing 10 games across all competitions since the beginning of December. “For sure,” he said. “Now, fortunately, they just said to me that after September, this is the first week that we have an entire week now, so we have a chance to work this week, then prepare (for) the FA Cup game and then again with the Premier League.”