Malo Gusto drops scathing four-word Chelsea verdict as Enzo Maresca fury revealed

Malo Gusto has conceded Enzo Maresca was right to unleash a furious outburst at the Chelsea side during half-time of their Carabao Cup third round victory over Lincoln City on Tuesday night.

The Blues trailed 1-0 at the break, with the League One side perhaps unfortunate not to be more than a goal to the good. The Imps were bombarding Chelsea's box with crosses, set-pieces and long throw-ins, while the Blues could not even force a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes at the LNER Stadium.

Two quick-fire goals from Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte not long after the restart proved to be too much for the impressive Lincoln. Maresca told reporters post-match that he was furious with his players at half-time, and Gusto believes the Chelsea head coach was right to be so.

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"Of course, in the first-half we played like kids," said Gusto, when asked if Maresca was angry with them at half-time. "They bullied us in every part of the pitch. It was really bad for us.

"The second-half was important to come back with more desire, more confidence. It is important for the team to keep building these kinds of things to become better."

The Blues defender added: "We knew they were going to play like this. It was their qualities, so they played with that.

"We were aware before of that. It was the game. The game was about duels, fighting. That is why we tried to do more in the second-half to show our desire to win, and that is what we did."

The Blues are now into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, with the draw taking place after Arsenal's trip to Port Vale this evening. Gusto has spoken about the squad's appetite to add more trophies to the cabinet after winning two major honours last season.

"We are on the way to win this trophy," Gusto continued. "We want to win it, for sure. We know that last season was good for us in terms of trophies, but we want more for this season.

"Of course, we are going to do our best. Today was important to win, to get back in a good way, and in this competition to try our best and to go as far as possible."

The victory for Chelsea ended a three-match winless run, and they will be hoping to build some momentum ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with Brighton at Stamford Bridge.

Gusto is hopeful some confidence will be gained from coming back against Lincoln, but has acknowledged the challenge that awaits them in the form of the Seagulls.

"That [building momentum] is our objective," the Frenchman said. "They [Brighton] are a good team too, but we know that we can compete and we can beat everyone - and that’s what we’re going to do."