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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Arthur Ferridge

Enzo Maresca beats Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery to Premier League award in surprise win

Top of the pile: Enzo Maresca - (Getty Images)

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been named Premier League manager of the month for November.

The Blues went unbeaten in November, though that form feels like a distant memory with the club now winless in four.

Maresca helmed the Blues to victory over Tottenham and relegation candidates Burnley and Wolves, who were then without a permanent head coach, before holding Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca was something of a surprise choice for the award. Also nominated were Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta and Aston Villa’s Unai Emery, whose eight-match winning streak got underway on November 6 with a Europa League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Pep Guardiola, Fabian Hurzeler, and Marco Silva made up the numbers on the shortlist.

Speaking on Friday, Maraesca said he was pleased to be recognised despite Chelsea’s December wobbles: "This kind of thing is because you do the right things in terms of performance and results.

“For us November was fantastic. December, we didn't start in the way we would like, even if it's just one week ago.

“So it's just three games in a row in one week that we didn't get results that we expect.”

It is Maresca’s second manager of the month title, meaning he has now won the award as many times as his Chelsea predecessors Thomas Tuchel and Claudio Ranieri. A third win would bring him on par with Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte’s Chelsea tallies.

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