Maurizio Sarri needs to show adaptability if results start to turn for Chelsea
By Travis Tyler
Maurizio Sarri’s style of football has worked wonders for Chelsea with a few hiccups. If results turn, Sarri needs to show he can adapt to new situations.
Success breeds complacency. While many are (incorrectly) jumping at the chance to mention Chelsea is the only undefeated team in the country/continent/world/ever, results have been getting tighter and less controlled. More and more, Chelsea is struggling to pull out a result and remain in third place (an accomplishment in its own right given the suddenness of Sarri’s tenure).
But the fact that Chelsea is undefeated is masking many faults. The squad very often starts incredibly slowly and is getting sloppier and sloppier. Luck is becoming more of a factor in Chelsea’s matches. Above all else, the balance of the team feels off.
Sarri is the type of manager that sticks to his system and shape and makes small adjustments as needed during a match. But the starting point is always the same. That can create a very consistent team, like it did with Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, but it can also create a team unable to reach the greatest of heights. If results start to turn, Sarri has to prove that he can adapt away from his favored 4-3-3 shape and the roles within.
Fans have already seen the imbalance in regards to the midfield and wide areas. It is often masked or countered with the “oh we are undefeated so you cannot criticize” mask. But the results are already starting to turn south more and more. Chelsea has struggled for long stretches in every match since the last international break. Most of those teams should be easily beatable. At some point, a team will take advantage of the situation.
Ironically, that run of matches also included some of the best play Chelsea has seen. Namely, it came against Burnley when Ruben Loftus-Cheek was in a wider area. The centermids, wingers, and fullbacks ebbed and flowed with such ease that Burnley had no idea where to look.
But if that is the goal, it has not been seen since. The team often feels to rigid and as if it is trying to force something to happen. A large part of this is the roles in the midfield.
Now, N’Golo Kante is a great player. As is Mateo Kovacic. But neither are being used to the best of their abilities. If anything, they are playing more like the other should be. Kovacic should be more advanced and Kante should be deeper.
On the wing, Willian often seems hesitant to leave his lane which welds Kante to the halfspace. Cesar Azpilicueta is asked to stay deeper but that whole side stagnates. The left is marginally better because Eden Hazard will cut in and Marcos Alonso will bomb forward, but Kovacic is very often too deep to get involved.
To fix these issues, Sarri often goes with near like for like subs that fail to change much besides energy levels. The only time he tried something different, the Loftus-Cheek for Pedro sub, worked brilliantly. But he seems hesitant to upset the shape of the 4-3-3 too much.
These issues remain because the team has yet to get a black eye as a result of them. If they do start to hurt Chelsea, then Sarri will have to adapt to counter the issues. On paper, a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-2-1 would get the best out of the players available, but Sarri has not changed from his 4-3-3 since his early Napoli days (itself a reaction to results going badly). Sarri will need to adapt or be overcome, just like Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola did before him. The Premier League does not allow complacency and Sarri will need to fix the issues.