The future does not look bright for Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri

Chelsea faced their latest setback at Anfield. It is becoming clearer that manager Maurizio Sarri is not keeping up as the club falls behind.

Football as a sport remains in constant evolution. Chelsea ,more than any other club, knows about evolution. It was in 2003, with Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea, that the world of football was propelled to a new horizon.

The changes are not just off field. A look around all the successful clubs gives a clue or two about where the power lies. Sunday was a reality check with Chelsea against Liverpool. It is not merely Liverpool, but Ajax with their run to semifinal of Champions League and the last few years of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur that serve as a constant reminder of the way football is run.

The Blues’ performance at Anfield was not as mediocre as the scoreline suggests. Some other day, Eden Hazard would have scored at least two himself. Chelsea was extremely unfortunate with many of their misplaced passes as well. But the most considerable difference was the speed at which Liverpool played.

It is easy to argue  that a team cannot play at a high speed throughout the season. But the world is evolving and there is always progress in every field. Nowadays players are capable of performing consistently for 90 minutes. The trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mane made most of their pace.

The Blues’ back line had no answer to their pace. Salah was constantly getting to the ball first ahead of Emerson (who is considerably faster than Marcos Alonso). Notwithstanding in the midfield, they were toying with Jorginho. Sunday’s match yet again proved Jorginho just cannot protect the back four as N’Golo Kante does against prominent teams.

The starting 11 had three quick players in Hazard, Willian, and Callum Hudson-Odoi. But unlike Liverpool’s front three, the Blues were focused on Hazard as Willian and Odoi were lacking sharpness and service from the back was inadequate. Sarri did not make things easier as the best crosser currently at Chelsea, Hudson-Odoi was substituted for Gonzalo Higuain.

Higuain has been a super flop for Chelsea so far. He has only scored in two matches against opposition that ranks among the worst Premier League has ever seen. His lack of awareness and inability to play with fellow attackers were there for everyone to see. The ideal substitution would have been Olivier Giroud for Willian. The French World Cup winner has a remarkably excellent understanding with Hazard and Hudson-Odoi. He represents a striker who is most in form for Chelsea.

If the reports are to be believed, Sarri wants to keep Higuain next season. Chelsea would be impetuous to extend the loan of a player who will be 32 later this year on the back of the fact that he scored 36 goals six years ago. Not to mention the heavy loan fee. With two 30 plus year old strikers and two 30 plus year old wingers, it will not be a surprise if Chelsea falls behind the leading teams in English football.

Chelsea’s performance under Sarri has been comparatively disappointing. They were absolutely naive away against fellow top six teams. Even against Everton, Wolves and West Ham, they failed to come away with a win. It is so unlike what Chelsea fans have accustomed to.

The board really needs to think about the next season with the way things are going for the Blues (alongside the ban and contract situations of influential players in mind).