Sarri keen to change Chelsea’s mentality to turn things around

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Feb 4, 2019

Sarri keen to change Chelsea's mentality to turn things around

Sarri emphasizes on movement off the ball in the midfield to make things happen

Maurizio Sarri believes changing the mentality of the Chelsea squad will help to remove the inconsistencies that have stalled the team’s progress in the recent weeks.

Chelsea managed to string together an unbeaten streak of 18 games in all competitions under Maurizio Sarri but the Blues have suffered a dip in their performance curve since November, losing games to Spurs, Wolves, Arsenal and Bournemouth.

And Sarri has insisted on changing the mentality of the squad to turn the results in his favour.

“Not in the past [have I managed a team that’s so inconsistent],” he told reporters.

“But my target is to improve the mentality because if we improve the mentality, I think it will be easier to arrive into every match with the right level of application and determination.

“It is not easy, of course, and it is a long way but we need to try to improve in mentality. In every training, in every match, but we need to improve.”

Sarri also emphasized on movement off the ball to open up the spaces in the midfield, which according to the manager, is necessary for Jorginho to flourish.

He added: “Jorginho needs movement without the ball from the other players because he is used to playing one-touch and it is very difficult to play one-touch without the movement of the other players.

“So if the team, like in the first 20-25 minutes [against Huddersfield], played very well with movements without the ball, then for Jorginho it is easier, I think. In the first 25 minutes, we played our football because we moved the ball very fast and very well.

“There was good movement without the ball. We were really very dangerous. We didn’t play with our backs to the opposing goal like in the last match, with five players doing it in the last match. We attacked the spaces and so I think that we played our football.”

Sarri explains why Jorginho has struggled after strong start to life in the Premier League

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Sayan Chatterjee

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Feb 4, 2019

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Sarri explains why Jorginho has struggled after strong start to life in the Premier League

Sarri attributes Jorginho’s failures to lack of movement in the midfield

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has defended Jorginho amidst criticism over his lacklustre form, claiming that the midfielder’s problems in the Premier League are down to the lack of movement from his teammates.

Jorginho returned to some sort of form in the 5-0 thrashing of Huddersfield and Sarri was pleased to see his favourite midfielder regain his touch.

But after return to winning ways against Huddersfield , the Chelsea coach insisted: “Jorginho played very well.

“Jorginho needs movement without the ball from the other players because he is used to playing one touch and it’s very difficult to play one touch without the movement of the other players.

“So the team in the first 25-30 minutes played very well, we have movements without the ball and for Jorginho it’s easier I think.

Jorginho was replaced by Mateo Kovacic due to some groin problems and Sarri insisted that the Croatian can fill in the anchor role in the midfield in the days to come.

“Kovacic is really close to Jorginho in moving the ball very fast, one touch,” said Sarri. “In the future, he will be able to play this position well. and Jorginho will be able to rest.”

Hazard reveals key difference between Giroud and Higuain

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Sayan Chatterjee

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Feb 4, 2019

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Hazard reveals key difference between Giroud and Higuain

Hazard backs Higuain to be a prolific No.9 at Chelsea

Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard showered praise on Gonzalo Higuain, claiming that the Argentine will score a lot of goals for the Blues in the days to come.

Higuain scored a brace against Huddersfield to help the Blues get back to winning ways following that 4-0 humiliation against Bournemouth on the south coast last week.

The No.9 position was always seen a weak link in Maurizio Sarri’s eleven, with Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud both failing to hit the ground running.

Hazard was forced to play in an unfamiliar false No.9 position but the arrival of Higuain has solved the manager’s quest for a specialist prolific No.9.

The 31-year-old is now Chelsea’s first-choice striker and Hazard believes he will prove his worth in the coming days even though he is less of a target man than Giroud.

‘He’s a great striker,’ said Hazard.

‘He’s a bit less of a target man than (Olivier) Giroud, but he can hold the ball, he can play one touch. He’s intelligent.

‘In the box he’s unbelievable. He will score more goals.’

Hazard also got his first two goals of the calendar year in the 5-0 thrashing of the Terriers and the fans have every right to expect more fireworks from their in-form frontmen in a hectic February schedule.

Sarri backs Kovacic to be Jorginho’s backup

By

Neelabhra Roy

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Feb 4, 2019

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Sarri backs Kovacic to be Jorginho's backup

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has backed Mateo Kovacic to be Jorghinho’s backup after Chelsea failed to sign a single midfielder in the winter.

Jorginho’s arrival at Stamford Bridge saw Cesc Fabregas warming the bench. Fabregas then signed for Monaco last month and Chelsea could not find a replacement for the Spaniard. Jorginho has made 30 appearances for Chelsea this season so far, scoring a goal in their Premier League opener against Huddersfield Town.

Jorginho is familiar with Sarri’s playing style more than anyone but the Italy international has received lot of criticism lately with many calling for his exclusion from the playing XI.

Talking about Chelsea’s midfield, Sarri said, “I don’t know [if we will suffer for not signing a midfielder] but I have to try with our own players. So, I think Kovacic could be a very good option. A very good option, then we need to recover completely Loftus-Cheek, after his back problem.

Then, we can play sometimes with Kovacic as a central midfielder and then Jorginho will be able to rest. We are trying in training with two players; the first is Ampadu and the second is Kovacic. It may be that for the characteristics, Kovacic is more suitable for this team.

As you know, Ampadu is more defensive. Kovacic is really close to Jorginho in moving the ball really fast at one-touch. In the future, I think he will be able to do this position well.”

ESPN analyst claims Jorginho was mischaracterised coming into the Premier League

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Sayan Chatterjee

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Feb 4, 2019

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ESPN analyst claims Jorginho was mischaracterised coming into the Premier League

Bonetti defends Jorginho by insisting it is not his job to rack up the assists

ESPN analyst Matteo Bonetti has defended Jorginho amidst all the criticism aimed at the Italian by insisting that the 26-year-old was mischaracterised coming into the Premier League.

“I don’t think people expected Jorginho to be the player that he is,” he told ESPN FC.

“People thought that Jorginho was gonna be this deep-lying playmaker, like a Pirlo-esque. That’s not his game.

“He never plays the ball over the top, he never makes assists. He’s not an assist-maker, Jorginho, he’s a player that’s supposed to organise the midfield, play short balls, take the pressure off the ones around him – like Sergio Busquets is for Barcelona, obviously of a weaker standard.

“Jorginho maybe was mischaracterised coming into the Premier League.”

Maurizio Sarri has come under scrutiny for his decision to persist with Jorginho as the anchor of his midfield three even though the Italian has failed to make an impact in recent weeks, often leading to the downfall of the team.

And Bonetti believes stubbornness is on one of the major shortcomings of Sarri as a manager.

“He’s always been considered stubborn,” he said.

“I think that was one of the negative aspects of his tenure at Napoli, he wouldn’t ever rotate his Napoli side down the stretch when they thought that they could catch Juve.

“All the players were tired, he never rotated apart from in European competitions that he didn’t even focus on. So Napoli just put on the subs in the Europa League, he only wanted to focus on the Scudetto and he never rotated.

“He always picked the same formation, 4-3-3, and always the same 11 players.

“I don’t think he’s settled on his best 11, I don’t think he knows who his best 11 are at Chelsea.”

Neville Predicts About Chelsea Sacking Maurizio Sarri

By

Abhishek Majumdar

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Feb 4, 2019

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Neville Predicts About Chelsea Sacking Maurizio Sarri

Former Manchester United ace turned pundit Gary Neville has said that he would be surprised to see Maurizio Sarri stay in charge of Chelsea at the start of the next season. The Chelsea manager has been heavily criticised by the fans as well as the experts for his tactical changes which has not been much good for the Blues so far this season.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the former defensive ace said, “I don’t think Chelsea will sack him during the season but the warning signs are there which make you think it would be surprising if it went past the summer.” ‘

He added, “Not because I want him to leave – I think he’s doing a good job – but looking at it he probably realises the job he is in. He’s had a look at the players and sees the players are not doing what he wants them to do. They never probably will. The maximum any manager gets out of those Chelsea players is one year. That’s the nature of the club.”

Neville concluded, “No manager can maintain that job for a long time. No manager has control. The manager should have control and be the voice of the football club. But there’s so much politics going on.”

Chelsea To Vie With Juventus And Man City For Real Madrid Wantaway

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Abhishek Majumdar

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Feb 4, 2019

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Chelsea-To-Vie-With-Juventus-And-Man-City-For-Real-Madrid-Wantaway

According to Rai Sport, as cited by Calciomercato, Chelsea are ready to take on Juventus and Manchester City to sign Real Madrid wantaway star Isco. The Spaniard has fallen down the pecking order under current manager Santiago Solari.

The report also says that the player is set to leave the club in the next summer transfer window and an array of clubs are ready to take him in. His skills in the midfield can’t be undermined and it is being reported that the two Premier League clubs are in the pole position to land the midfielder.

The player has been heavily underused by Solari this season, who has been in favour of playing Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos over him. This has not gone down well with the Spaniard and he is set to leave the club.

Chelsea have faced a few problems in the midfield this season with manager Maurizio Sarri changing things around a bit. His new signing, Jorginho, has not been able to perform as expected and Isco could come into the side as a very good option in the central midfield. Besides, Chelsea also has the financial muscle to land the brilliant midfielder and they should make most of this opportunity to land the Real Madrid wantaway next summer.

Alexis Sanchez compared to this Chelsea flop!

By

Diptanil Roy

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Feb 3, 2019

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Alexis Sanchez compared to this Chelsea flop!

Jamie Carragher has compared Alexis Sanchez to Fernando Torres!

‘He hasn’t had enough football since Jose Mourinho and you’re left wondering whether Solskjaer can have that effect on him. In the FA Cup game he got the goal away at Arsenal. ‘When I used to watch him under Jose Mourinho, I couldn’t blame the manager. We would do games and he’d consistently lose possession. It doesn’t matter what manager you’ve got.

‘It wasn’t about being too deep but it will be slightly different now. He’s got to do more himself. ‘Looking at him in a Manchester United shirt, I felt like I was looking at Fernando Torres in a Chelsea shirt. ‘Where we’ve seen this blistering pace and power, one of the stars of the Premier League and it just seemed to go. ‘Is that a loss of confidence, manager’s instructions or the amount of football the lad’s playing?’

Sanchez has however, been backed by Neville who feels United should do more with him now that he’s already on board. ‘They’re stuck with him, Alexis Sanchez. They’ve got him now for two or three years,’ the ex-United defender said. ‘I always think with Alexis Sanchez that he’s lost a bit of his spark, a bit of his pace.

SEE MORE: Italian journalist claims Maurizio Sarri is copying Pep Guardiola at Chelsea

Why Higuain is key to Sarri’s system

By

Diptanil Roy

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Feb 3, 2019

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Matt Law believes Gonzalo Higuain is key for Chelsea to succeed under Sarri.

“What you could see on Saturday, even though it was against Huddersfield, was that with Higuain, with a proper striker, you could see how the system is meant to work in the attacking areas,” he said. “All season they’d either been playing with Eden Hazard as the false nine or Alvaro Morata. The whole system was basically falling down.

“You could only get so far with pass, pass, pass, pass and pass. Then there was no movement from whoever was playing through the middle and it would fall down in the attacking areas. In a lot of matches they weren’t really creating a lot of chances.

“So, albeit against Huddersfield where you could have probably played in any system and won the game quite convincingly, you got a look and a feeling of how the system is now meant to work with a proper striker.

“Hazard started on the left but he was playing very close to Higuain, almost like a partner, and it wasn’t breaking down any more. They, along with Willian, were working in tandem and they were creating chances.

“They looked dangerous. For that style of football it was very encouraging for them.”

SEE MORE: Italian journalist claims Maurizio Sarri is copying Pep Guardiola at Chelsea

Willian praises Chelsea and Higuain

By

Diptanil Roy

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Feb 3, 2019

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Willian has praised Chelsea and Higuain on the back of their 5-0 win against Huddersfield Town.

‘We have a lot of good players, a quality team, and very good players in front,’ said the Brazilian, whose corner kick set up David Luiz for our fifth goal of the afternoon. ‘It doesn’t matter the player that plays there, we have the same profile of football and that’s what the manager says to us: “Play fast, play quick.” Higuain played very well with his movements, with one-twos around the box, so it was very good for us.’

‘It was much better,’ added Chelsea‘s No22. ‘We played really well, we did what we had to do – we had possession, we scored goals, we were clinical. That’s it. We have to keep going.

‘We know when you play for Chelsea, when the results don’t come, the pressure comes. You have to work on the situation and, of course, we know in football you always have to improve, even when you win games. After the [Bournemouth] game, which was a bad game for us, we came strong and we showed character. This is Chelsea.’

SEE MORE: Former Liverpool star claims Gary Cahill snubbed a move to Fulham because he thinks Sarri is going to be sacked