Chelsea’s up, down, and ultimately dead end year with Maurizio Sarri

Maurizio Sarri is no longer the Chelsea manager. The season has had its ups and downs but ultimately ended in a dead end with nowhere else to go.

Chelsea’s board has a bad habit of failing to support managers after winning the Premier League. It cost Jose Mourinho his job in half a season. It cost Antonio Conte his job after a season.

The decision of where the club went after Conte was largely done in the shadow of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Much like what happened when Guardiola was top of the world with Barcelona, there was a sense that the only way to play was a possession based style. Something Chelsea had almost always been the antithesis of previously.

That is where Maurizio Sarri came in. His Napoli played some of the most entertaining football in all of Europe. It was believed that he could change the culture of Chelsea to more closely mimic Guardiola’s style. It was a season full of ups and downs but ultimately it hit a dead end with nowhere else to go.

Despite the myth of having a preseason so shortened that it would have mattered, Sarri’s Chelsea started very well. While it was never as impressive as Sarri’s Napoli, the foundations appeared to be going into place. The first half of the season was not perfect, but it showed a great deal of promise for the Italian’s methods.

Then, the winter slog hit. Much like under Conte the year before, January hit Chelsea like a Mack truck under Sarri. A historic Premier League loss to Bournemouth was quickly followed up by an even more historic loss to Manchester City. Sarri was refusing to adapt and instead blamed the players’ mentalities.

It was also during this time that Sarri asked for Gonzalo Higuain to sharpen Chelsea’s attack. Despite obviously being a terrible decision, the board agreed and brought the Argentine striker in. It went exactly as expected. Sarri’s stubbornness and absolution of blame began to wear on a fan base that he never tried to connect with in the first place.

That is not to say Sarri was always stubborn. He made adaptations for the League Cup final (again, against Manchester City) that kept the Blues in the match all the way to penalties. But even on that day, there were signs that not all was right when Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to be subbed off and Sarri refused to press the issue with the officials.

Following an absolutely terrible (and lucky) win against Cardiff, Sarri again adapted by giving more minutes to Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi. This won the fans back over enough for Sarri to take advantage of an easier run in schedule. Chelsea ultimately finished third, in part because Arsenal and Manchester United repeatedly refused to take advantage of their chances.

The Europa League final started incredibly poorly but eventually Chelsea showed a clinical streak that they had lacked for nearly two seasons. Sarri won his first trophy with Chelsea but it was to be the end.

Sarri had placated many fans by finishing third, winning a trophy, and giving chances to Hudson-Odoi and Loftus-Cheek. But he did not win them over. He remained incredibly aloof and uncaring. The style of play for most of the season was hard to watch and even harder to watch knowing Sarri would not change it if it was not working.

With a transfer ban in place and a stubborn adherence to tactics, Sarri had little chance of improving the side in the next season. Juventus came calling and, as Sarri has done with every club throughout his career, the Italian left when the better option presented itself.

With the transfer ban and the events of last season on the whole, there was no path forward for Chelsea and Sarri. If they continued, at best they would have matched their achievements of Sarri’s first season. More likely they would have regressed. Sarri leaving for Juventus became the best situation for Chelsea, Sarri, and Juventus.

Ultimately, Sarri’s legacy will be shaped by who follows him. Did he lay the foundation for something different at Chelsea? Was it a lost season where the Blues stalled? Or was it the year where Chelsea realized the type of club they wanted to be?