Maurizio Sarri is turning back towards Willian for Chelsea’s last game of the international break. Given Pedro’s strong run of form under Sarri, this is hopefully just Sarri tinkering for one last look before the international break.
Pedro has been Maurizio Sarri’s best winger over the entire stretch of Sarri’s short tenure at Chelsea. Of course, Eden Hazard missed all of preseason because of the World Cup, but that just drives home how smartly opportunistic Pedro was starting in July. Pedro knew there would be only one spot up for grabs in Chelsea’s front line once Hazard returned, so the Spaniard did everything he could to make it his own.
Pedro’s scoring form from preseason continued into the Premier League, with two goals in the first two games. As much as any other player, Pedro took to Sarrismo instantly and to great effect. Yet Sarri is now reverting to Willian to start against Bournemouth.
For as interchangeable as Pedro and Willian have been over the years together at Chelsea, the two have diverged under Maurizio Sarri. Sarri showed his early preference and reward for Pedro by playing him on the right side throughout preseason. Both Pedro and Willian prefer the right, and that is the position they were fighting for upon Eden Hazard’s return. Giving Pedro the nod in his preferred position and with the chance to show what he would look like in the final product seemed to be a clear sign. Given Willian’s weakness on the left – both overall and relative to Pedro – the Brazilian seemed to be fighting for his way back.
Willian has not done anything to warrant his spot in the starting XI. He has not out-performed Pedro at any point in the preseason or in-season. He still has the cloud of disrespect and disrepute floating over his head from May.
Maurizio Sarri has no reason to rotate his squad for rotation’s sake. They are only four games into the season and have been playing on a weekly schedule. The international break starts on Monday, and Willian will report to duty in Brazil while Pedro did not receive a call-up for Spain. If anything, today would be the day to rest Willian and not Pedro, since Pedro has two weeks off ahead of him.
Sarri is not one for rotation, so when he does rotate there will always be a flurry of questions. In this case, the rotation does not appear to have any basis in performance, recovery or attitude. Just the opposite, in fact.
Maurizio Sarri may be using the last day of post-pre-season to take one more look at the permutations available to him. He knows exactly which players he has available and who his opponents will be for the next few months in the Europa League, Premier League and the first game of the Carabao Cup. Replacing Willian with Pedro may be more of a last chance / last look than any statement about the two.
Hopefully that is the case. Pedro has more than earned his place in the starting XI. He and Sarrismo are a perfect fit, and he is playing like a man turning back the clock. Willian, well, read through our archives if you need a refresher.