Maresca has delivered Champions League football and a European trophy in his first season in charge despite many being critical of their domestic performances, in which his side have sometimes been inconsistent. The Blues came from a goal down to thrash Real Betis 4-1 in the Conference League final, thanks to inspiration from the likes of Cole Palmer who turned the game on its head.
Chelsea have now become the first club to win the full set of major European honours after lifting the UEFA Conference League trophy and Madueke stated that of one the youngest sides in Premier League history have come into their own.
“I feel like we’ve come of age, don’t you?” the winger said. “I feel like we have, you know. I think the last few weeks, we’ve taken a leap in that sense.
“You look at the Nottingham Forest game and we came through that. The Liverpool game at home, the (Manchester) United game at home and then this final.
“Of course,(the season is) a success. Especially where we’ve come from in the last few years. We know that Chelsea is a winning club. But there has been nothing in our minds apart from winning and we did that.”
Maresca delivered the club’s first silverware in four years and Madueke said that the Italian head coach deserves all the praise after what was a thrilling comeback in Wroclaw, Poland on Wednesday night.
"The gaffer is top, man,” Madueke added. “He won last year at Leicester and he won this year in his first year at Chelsea - and qualified for the Champions League. I don’t understand why there would be criticism of him.
“Of course, (winning) becomes infectious. Of course it does. It’s a lot of the boys’ first major trophy and we are super happy that we’ve done it.”