Chelsea suffer huge new blow as official statement released after slashing Liverpool's lead in title race

Enzo Maresca has continued to play down Chelsea’s Premier League title chances despite closing the gap on Liverpool to two points.

The Reds were held to a 2-2 draw against Fulham at Anfield. Head coach Arne Slot had mixed emotions after the game, with Liverpool reduced to 10 men after only 17 minutes when Andy Robertson was issued a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity, but battled from behind to earn a point.

It was the second straight league game that the Reds dropped points, though, and Chelsea profited. The Stamford Bridge outfit earned a 2-1 victory over Brentford to pile pressure on Liverpool, although they do have a game in hand.

However, Maresca - who is in his first season as Chelsea boss - has insisted that his side are still not ready to challenge for the top-flight crown. The Italian said: "No, no, no. You can talk about the title and the fans can dream about the title, absolutely. If you ask me, I will tell you what I think. But you can think in a different way. Just because there are things, no matter how many games we are going to win, for me, we are not ready but we are happy that the fans can dream something more."

Chelsea did suffer a huge blow at the end of the Brentford win, though. Marc Cucurella, who opened the scoring in the 43rd minute, was sent off after the final whistle. The left-back was given a second yellow card and must serve a one-match suspension against Everton on Sunday. A statement from the Premier League Match Centre’s X account said: “The referee issued a second yellow card to Cucurella for adopting an aggressive attitude. Schade was also booked for the same offence.”

On the incident, Maresca said: "I asked the referee and he said to me that the second yellow card was for bad attitude. When the final whistle [was blown], I was with coaching staff, hugging them and celebrating so I did not see nothing. I don't know."