Chelsea: Five pivotal moments in Maurizio Sarri’s first Premier League season

Against the consistency of Sarriball, Chelsea’s season had its usual share of drama and turning points. Navigating dodgy wins to transfer rumours to losses to disciplinary issues, the Blues made their way into third place.

Chelsea’s third-place finish in the Premier League met some people’s expectations, exceeded others’ and continues to surprise nearly all. With so many events throughout the season seemingly pointing towards the negative, the Blues still finished only one place behind the mega-duopoly. Here are five pivotal moments in the Premier League campaign.

1. Sarri goes in on N’Golo Kante after Tottenham loss (George Perry)

Maurizio Sarri proved he was a different class of manager in his reaction to Chelsea’s November loss to Tottenham. His penchant for brutal honesty revealed his true thoughts, which is good as far as giving people a clear insight into the man’s mind, but devastating once you see what’s inside.

Sarri did something no manager has ever been known to do and trained his fire on N’Golo Kante. He drew a bright line between Kante and “technical” players like Jorginho and Cesc Fabregas (who obviously was not long for the team). As if that wasn’t enough, he criticized how the two-time Premier League champion and World Cup winner tried to impose himself on the game – “not one of the best characteristics of Kante, but it was only a reaction to the difficulties” – with Chelsea never getting a foothold against Spurs, and still kept up the logorrhea to add that Kante must stay close to Jorginho, offering some kind of bodyguard protection for the “technical” genius.

This was an astounding act of managerial malpractice, and the first time Sarri’s “system uber alles” philosophy was laid bare.

Up to this point, Sarri’s adherence to the 4-3-3 with Jorginho at the base could have been seen as staying in his comfort zone while results were mostly positive. He could have been trying out new things with his players, seeing how what he knew carried over to the Premier League, and the like.

These comments ended all those benefits of the doubt. Sarri either did not know what to do with one of the best players of the world, or did not care to do it because the only thing that mattered was “his” way of playing. He was willing to hamper Kante’s contributions on the pitch and then denigrate Kante’s approach because it was Sarri enough.

Sarri’s comments also ended the lingering hopes that he ushered in an era of fun and comity in a locker room only a few years removed from “palpable discord.” Sarri did not know how to manage his people, either in his formation or in his public statements. No player should be immune from criticism, but the manner and substance of Sarri’s remarks were the first clear sign he was out of his depth.