Chelsea fell at the home of yet another top-six London rival as they lost 2-0 to Arsenal. They do not deserve the Champions League, and they will not qualify.
It is understandable to think a new manager would need at least one season to have the team playing the way he wants. Nobody should expect a new manager to win the Premier League title. Even though Chelsea have seen Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti doing that, it was not a realistic possibility for Maurizio Sarri given factors within the club and throughout the Premier League.
Despite the expectations of an imperfect first season, Sarri’s tenure started well and was on course to get better as the players grew more comfortable with the style of play. Unfortunately for Chelsea, the last few months have been the opposite..
Maurizio Sarri was known for not rotating his squad properly. This was one of the reasons Napoli did not win any titles under him. Apart from Serie A, his team was a complete failure in other competitions.
Unlike Napoli, Chelsea have a lot of good players, such that many expected Sarri to use them effectively. But as the matches started to come thick and fast, Sarri’s starting XI and how he uses those players have not changed. As a result, things have not been kind for the Blues. They haven’t scored more than two goals in a Premier League match since early November. The same set of players are starting almost every match. Despite having a lot of possession and passes, there is no end product.
Chelsea, who never used to taste defeat at the grounds of top-six rivals, started losing these matches after Antonio Conte’s arrival. Sarri has continued this trend.
The cry for new players to improve the results is understandable. But Chelsea are not suffering from injuries like other teams. They have depth in the players available to them. The only problem is Maurizio Sarri is too stubborn to use them properly.
Players like Emerson Palmieri, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Olivier Giroud, Ethan Ampadu, and Andreas Christensen are not given proper chances despite awful performances from players like Joriginho, Marcos Alonso and Willian. Even though N’Golo Kante is doing his job, everybody knows box-to-box midfield is not his best position. Eden Hazard is likewise played out of position, despite Chelsea struggling to find the back of the net.
Against Arsenal, such was the case. Yet again Alonso, Willian and Jorginho were ineffective. Chelsea had no one in the middle of the penalty box to receive a cross.
Any other team that has ever played football eventually would have tried long ball after long ball towards the end of the match to get something. But surprisingly, Chelsea were still passing the ball in front of the penalty box in the late stages of the game, even as Olivier Giroud was begging for something in front of the net. Most of the players were trying for the safer pass than a pass that could be dangerous despite players like Pedro and Hazard making a run.
Chelsea had a great chance to close on the top three spots in the Premier League as Tottenham descend into a struggle with injuries. But with Manchester United and Arsenal behind and gaining fast, Chelsea could end up outside top-four with their current form.