Maurizio Sarri is a man of numbers. Hence despite the tepid performance last night which saw them just get over the line, Sarri claimed to be somewhat of a happy man; something he would have not done with this result a month back. Why?
First let us have a look at what he had to say. “I am happy because we played with a very good level of confidence,” said the Chelsea boss. “It wasn’t really very easy after the last match, but we were confident because we moved the ball also inside our box. I think we played very well.
“We risked [conceding] only on set-pieces, because they are more physical than us. We could have scored more, I think, but we conceded a goal from a mistake.
“The level of application and attention was good. We made a mistake, Mateo’s mistake, so it could have been better. Better because we had three or four goal opportunities when it was 2-0, so we could have killed the match.
“But I am happy with the confidence. It wasn’t easy to play with this confidence after the last match. If we concede a goal like this to a team like Manchester City or United or Tottenham, then you risk conceding three goals in 10 minutes.
“We have to do better, I think. But I think that the performance was a good performance.”
It seems the Chelsea boss has first of all accepted the limitations of his team, secondly he understands this transition will take time and hence adapting by itself to his style would be a massive task and third of all, he has taken into account the man-management issue at the club quite seriously by placing an arm around the shoulders when they need it the most.
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