The Blues edged a hard-fought contest at Turf Moor to make it three wins on the spin in the Premier League. Goals shortly before the end of each half – by Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez – secured the victory, and left Maresca satisfied with our day’s work.

‘It was a tough game for many reasons: after the international break, 12 in the morning, Burnley away, a pitch with small dimensions,’ said Maresca.

‘So it was a very tricky game, and the way the players competed was good, with another clean sheet.

‘They had just one good chance that was in the second half, and then we conceded some chaos inside the box which is part of the game, but overall we deserved to win and we are happy.’

With Moises Caicedo not featuring in a league game for the first time under Maresca, Andrey Santos started alongside Enzo Fernandez in the centre of midfield.

The Brazilian rewarded his head coach by putting in a superb performance, receiving the official Player of the Match award at full-time. Maresca noted how being in that role suited Santos, while he also singled out Jamie Gittens, who created the first goal.

‘Andrey was excellent. His position is the position he played today. With us most of the time he has been playing a little bit higher, in the pocket. In that [deeper] position we have Moi, so we try to find solutions for Andrey. We are aware his position is the one he played today.

‘Jamie Gittens was also very good,’ added Maresca. ‘It’s important to have all of them involved.’

Maresca also confirmed Reece James’s withdrawal at half-time was planned.

‘The idea was to manage Reece. This is the reason he played 45 minutes. It was planned. I would like Reece to continue second half but we need to protect him.

‘Pedro and Enzo had a good international break in terms of recovering energy and recovering from injury. The rest were all good.’