Chelsea: Maurizio Sarri’s tweaks may not be as permanent as they appear

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has adapted his own script in the last two matches, but his post-Tottenham comments imply the tweaks may not be here to stay.

Maurizio Sarri has finally stepped away from “his way” or the highway to use some new tricks. In fact, he dug out some of Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho’s old tools to blend his style with the style that Chelsea has had for over a decade.

Against Manchester City, it worked well despite the Blues not winning. Against Tottenham, it worked better and the Blues were able to win the match comfortably in the end. Chelsea is playing much better all of a sudden and it seems to be down to these tweaks in the two most recent big games.

But Maurizio Sarri’s post match comments hint that they may just be temporary. He said he listened to the players and agreed that they needed to adapt against Tottenham, but he gave no indication that he would keep those adaptations in place going forward.

So what did Sarri change to make Chelsea better against both City and Spurs? Perhaps the most helpful change was the defensive shape. Instead of the 4-4-2 Chelsea had used all season, the Blues used a 4-5-1 most of the time against City and Spurs. The five almost acted as a pendulum as one winger would come up a bit higher if the ball was close.

The five man midfield helped in a few ways. It kept the midfield three central which was vital in shielding the defense. The entire line also stuck closer to the defensive line which prevented balls between the lines from being effective. And in turn, the defense was able to spread out more to cover the pitch better.

On offense, the plan more or less remained the same but the lower defensive line allowed for more vertical space to attack with speed. Furthermore, against Tottenham, there was almost always a fourth man joining the three attackers, giving the formation a 4-2-4 or 3-3-4 shape as the Blues entered the final third.

Sarri said that the lower defensive line was due to the players asking for it given their fatigue after the League Cup loss. Sarri agreed and let it happen. But he did not imply that the tweaks would remain. If anything, he implied that they were to combat tougher opponents.

On the one hand, it is fine (and advisable) to adapt to the tough opponents. Sarri has failed to do that previously in all but one match this season prior to the League Cup final. “His way” can still work against lower opposition but Chelsea got hammered by Arsenal, City, and Spurs earlier this season for going full out Sarrismo.

On the other hand, the tweaks let Chelsea use things they are good at (defending deep, countering with pace) and mix it with things Sarri wants (aggressive pressing, fast and vertical passing after winning the ball). Combining the two has made sense for a while and it took to the brink of a sack to convince Sarri to do it.

With a win against Tottenham, Sarri has surely bought himself time at least until the March international break. With an easier schedule until then, it will be paramount that Chelsea advances in the Europa League and keeps pace (or passes) Manchester United and Arsenal. The tweaks Sarri has used in the last two matches can help, but only if he commits to meeting Chelsea half way.

Meeting them halfway has already bought him time. If he keeps doing it, he can buy himself more and better transition to “his way”. It makes complete sense to do but whether or not it actually happens will become evident over the next week.