Chelsea’s squad vs. Kyiv: Why mention Ethan Ampadu only to leave him out?

Maurizio Sarri is either highly confident in Chelsea’s 3-0 lead or less secure in his job than ever. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will start against Dynamo Kyiv, while Jorginho starts on the bench.

Is this the dawning of a brand new day? Probably not. In fact, looking just behind the surface, it’s more of the same. Even so, it’s noteworthy. Maurizio Sarri is starting the two players who came on as substitutes in the first leg against Dynamo Kyiv and connected for Chelsea’s third goal. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi are in the starting XI along with Davide Zappacosta.

Just as surprising given the significance of Hudson-Odoi and Loftus-Cheek starting together is Sarri’s decision to start Mateo Kovacic at the base of midfield instead of Jorginho.

The relative inexperience of the starting XI is balanced by the strength of the bench. If, somehow, Chelsea are in danger of losing the tie – or if Sarri is beset by a case of “what have I done” paranoia – Eden Hazard, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jorginho and David Luiz are ready to come in.

The 18-man squad is very much Sarri: he trusts his backup players and a few youth, but only so much. And if he gets the slightest whiff of worry he can quickly revert to form.

The most notable absence from the squad is Ethan Ampadu. Sarri responded to a question in his press conference about Callum Hudson-Odoi by snapping back “Why do you not ask about Ethan Ampadu?” This statement at the very least suggested that Ampadu was on Sarri’s mind, or that Hudson-Odoi is not the only youth player Sarri has on the brink of the first team.

His decision not to tap Ampadu even for the bench reveals just how far Ampadu is from the first team. For as far as Hudson-Odoi is, Ampadu is even farther.

Mentioning Ampadu in that context was just another unforced error in man-management by Maurizio Sarri. He could have deflected the question in any number of ways without name-dropping another player. Sarri truly seems to not understand the impact of his words at press conferences broadcast live to the world. Or if he does, he simply does not care. He repeats the same mistakes, he is not working with a translator to ensure he says in English what he is thinking in Italian (a convenient excuse if he ever wants to use it) and – for better or worse – his words are completely consistent with his actions.

Pick your poison. At best, Sarri’s comments gave Ampadu and fans false hope for the Welshman’s involvement today. At worst, as we said above, it shows how little Sarri thinks of Ampadu.

And if he thinks that little of Ethan Ampadu – who will probably play nearly as many minutes for Wales in the upcoming international break than he will for Chelsea all season – the rest of the academy will be utterly demoralized.