'Take his medicine' - national media verdict on Chelsea defeat to Ipswich with Enzo Maresca message
Chelsea's hopes of winning the Premier League title were dealt a major blow with a defeat at the hands of Ipswich Town.
The Blues fell to a 2-0 loss at the hands of the Tractor Boys at Portman Road on Monday night. Liam Delap opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half before former Chelsea star Omari Hutchinson doubled their advantage after the interval.
Enzo Maresca's side missed out on the chance to climb up to second place in the Premier League table with victory over Ipswich. Instead, the defeat leaves the Blues in fourth place and 10 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
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Chelsea had thought they had equalised with a strike from Joao Felix only for the effort to be ruled out by VAR for offside. The Blues will now prepare to face Crystal Palace this weekend in their next fixture as they look to end a run of three Premier League matches without a win.
Here, football.london takes a look at how the national media reported on Chelsea's defeat to Ipswich in the Premier League.
Tom Allnutt wrote for The Times: "Ipswich Town won at home in the Premier League for the first time in 22 years by beating a Chelsea side whose title challenge may have just evaporated in nine days."
The article continued: "They rode their luck, with Cole Palmer hitting the post and crossbar after an early penalty from Liam Delap gave Ipswich the lead, but Chelsea paid the price for a slow start and some wayward finishing.
"And nobody could deny that Delap deserved to be on the winning team. He scored one, set up Omari Hutchinson’s second and never stopped running. Delap should be careful; play this well in the Premier League against Chelsea and in the end, they tend to sign you. Ipswich stay in the bottom three but this result could prove transformative. At full-time, the players stayed out, clapping the fans as they walked around the pitch."
Kieran Gill added for the Daily Mail: "Don’t celebrate against your old club? Says who? Omari Hutchinson may have been made in Chelsea, but it was Ipswich who gave him his big break, and for confirming their first Premier League home win of the season, he had an acrobatic routine reserved."
The article added: "Chelsea gifted Ipswich chances but took none of their own and after all the praise, Maresca must now take his medicine after such a woeful week. A draw with Everton, a loss to Fulham, and now defeat by Ipswich, a game in which the visitors paid the price for their changes.
"The only silver lining for Maresca, if there is one, is he can being quizzed on the Premier League's title race. He may wish to expect a few on how much harm they are doing to their top-four chances, mind."
Jon West concluded for The Telegraph: "Ipswich celebrated a first Premier League victory at Portman Road since 2002 thanks to goals from a 21-year-old Chelsea sold last summer and another whose early career had been moulded by Enzo Maresca.
"Chelsea, who would have ended 2024 in second had they won, fell behind to an early penalty from Liam Delap, Maresca’s protege as an under-21 at Manchester City.
"And victory was sealed by a second-half goal from Omari Hutchinson, a player Maresca’s predecessors at Stamford Bridge had deemed worthy of just two appearances.
"Not since Darren Bent’s goal downed Middlesbrough 22 years ago had Town enjoyed a top-flight success in Suffolk and the Tractor Boys, though still in the relegation zone, savoured the final whistle."