Noah boss makes 'park the bus' Chelsea claim as Enzo Maresca mission clear

Noah boss Rui Mota has revealed his side will not "park the bus" against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.

The Armenian outfit travel to London having won one and lost one of their two UEFA Conference League games so far. Following a 2-0 win against Mlada Boleslav in October, Noah lost 1-0 against SK Rapid in matchday 2 of the competition.

Noah, who were founded in 2017, are the second club from Armenia to participate in the group or league stage of UEFA competition following FC Pyunik’s run to the Conference League group stage in 2022. Despite being heavy underdogs against Enzo Maresca's side, Mota insists his players will not set out only to defend

“Park the bus? No one ever parked the bus, not with me,” he said. “We play our game as we have to play. We know we are playing a fantastic team, we know they are favourites. They have the whole responsibility.

“We are very humble to know this. But to park the bus? Not with me.

“The motivation for our club is the shirt that we wear. We’re making history in this competition. Our boys have been motivated since the first day of the season. I hope that tomorrow I don’t have to give them too much energy.”

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Chelsea, meanwhile, sit top of the Conference League league table having won both of their two games so far. Asked how much he knows about Noah, Maresca said: "I heard [of them] before the game. In the last two or three days, we have watched different games from them and I said many times, in the Conference League it is a bit tricky because everyone against us wants the game. We need to be ready tactically but also mentally."

He added: "It is a team that in their country, they play different shapes so we don't know how they will come here and play. We try to be ready.

"In today's football, you can find a good player, a good squad, a good manager everywhere, not only in the most important league in Europe or the world. In this kind of country, you can find important things and for sure, they have some good players also."

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