Maurizio Sarri made it clear that Chelsea would not be a carbon copy of Napoli. That has held true but Jorginho’s usage has made the squad predictable.
Week in and week out, Sarri’s Napoli did the same thing in the same shape. They would build up in a 3-4-3 with Jorginho dropping deep, playing it to someone in the line of four, and then quickly advancing the ball into the final third.
At Chelsea, it was assumed that the same thing would happen. Especially when the Blues bought the key figure that is Jorginho. But Sarri has not used Jorginho in the same exact way despite the overall set up being the same. This has made Chelsea predictable and has held Jorginho back somewhat.
Sarri has the Blues build from the back in the same 3-4-3 shape that he used at Napoli. The key difference is how the back three and the four are set up. At Chelsea, the back three usually consists of both centerbacks and a fullback. The other fullback advances as the farthest midfielder slides over. Jorginho fills the gap in the center.
On paper, this would put Jorginho in an influential position in the center. But that is not how it is working in practice. Teams have figured out that Chelsea will almost always pass it to Jorginho in the midfield line which makes him an easier target to press. Furthermore, by only having one fullback higher up the field (as opposed to both like at Napoli), Chelsea is effectively cutting one flank off as an option. It may not seem like much, but going from three options (two flanks and the center) to just two (one flank in the center) makes Chelsea much easier to defend against.
Furthermore, it also means Chelsea struggle to advance the ball rapidly. Since everything has to be focused through Jorginho, the brief pressure put on him as his teammates adjust prevents fast attacks. And because the opponent has an easier time of defending because they need to focus on fewer fronts, the attack naturally slows down almost immediately.
There are three possible reasons as to why Sarri has done this with Jorginho. The first is that he does not trust the fullbacks to join the midfield line while also being prepared for a counter. The second is that he does not trust the other two midfielders to quickly advance the ball, so it must go to Jorginho. The third is that he is trying to use the muscle memory of 3-4-3 left over from Antonio Conte.
The former two are player issues. Sarri has so far been reluctant to make too many chopping changes. But if somewhere in Marcos Alonso, Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante, and Mateo Kovacic he sees a player (or duo) as not good enough, then it is a problem.
The latter is something many mangers do but it is rarely talked about. Few managers will completely throw out everything the previous manager did. They will look to incorporate it into the transition period. If that is what Sarri is doing (most likely due to the defensive issues he often mentions), then he is doing so at the expense of Jorginho having more passing options.
It seems counter intuitive but putting Jorginho in the middle of everything as opposed to behind it has held Chelsea back offensively. Whether that is due to player issues or something else is still unclear. But the lack of balance the squad often has and the difficulty with playing the ball quickly all stem from it. When Chelsea returns from the break, Sarri may have to make a tough decision to get Jorginho where he is needed for the team at the expense of another starter.