Chelsea suffered another disappointing result at the hands of a Premier League title contender on Saturday. Thomas Tuchel’s side was soundly beaten by a Manchester City team that looked superior from the opening whistle. The 13-point gap at the top of the table just goes to show how much more dominant Pep Guardiola’s side have been throughout the season. The game might have been decided by a fine margin—Kevin de Bruyne’s worldie—but the overall gap in quality is apparent to say the least. The Citizens weren’t their best, nor did they need to be in order to take three points off their visitors. Lackluster is the word that comes to mind to describe the Blues.
It was a disheartening performance from many of the Chelsea players. Christian Pulisic was a passenger, Hakim Ziyech had his head in the clouds and Marcos Alonso was out of his element. N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic played quite well, they were just overrun in the middle of the park. Kepa Arrizabalaga and the back line in front of him did everything they could to keep the Blues in the match for as long as they could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough in the end. Yet, there was an important takeaway from the Etihad. Perhaps the lone bright spot in the squad on Saturday was the performance of young centerback Malang Sarr.
Malang Sarr stood out in an otherwise sluggish Chelsea starting XI on Saturday
A lot of talk around Sarr heading into 2022 focused on another potential loan move away for the French defender. In fact, it was a bit of a surprise to see the centerback remain at Chelsea for this season in the first place. He’d only made a handful of appearances throughout the first half of the campaign and the games he did play were relatively insignificant, most of which came in the Carabao Cup. Nevertheless, Sarr kept his head down, worked and waited on his name to be called.
A mix of unfortunate injuries and COVID-19 cases amongst the camp has seen Sarr become an important figure in recent weeks. He helped the Blues dispatch of Tottenham in the EFL Cup semifinal, playing a pivotal role in his team keeping a clean sheet across two legs. Sarr’s inclusion in the starting XI at the Etihad was a bit of a shock to some. But it was an undeniable chance for him to prove his worth against one of the best—if not the best—sides in European football. There was little to be excited about as the final whistle blew on another gut-wrenching one-goal domestic defeat at the hands of Guardiola’s champions elect. Sarr walking off the pitch after completing his second 90′ in the Premier League was a positive takeaway.
The 22-year-old stood out in a three-man defense that included the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva for all of the right reasons. He made a number of important challenges to prevent lethal finishers such as Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling from getting into good goalscoring positions. Sarr’s movement and positioning when tracking back to defend quick Manchester City counterattacks was positive. He stepped in front of numerous key passes to prevent Arrizabalaga from being left on an island to defend a one-versus-one blitz. The biggest criticisms of Sarr on the day related to his passing. Some said he struggled to find outlets and break out of an intense press. Unfortunately, the same can be said of just about every Chelsea player on the day. Sarr’s clearances and passes out from the back were important because they allowed the Blues a chance to breathe and reset their shape before the next wave came in. They didn’t spark offensives from the Blues, that was never going to be the case in this game though. Overall, it was not a flawless performance from the former Nice centerback—far from it—but he was very good on the day.
Sarr’s performance went as far as to show Chelsea fans that his inclusion in the ranks is a reason to get excited. There is no more overlooking the defender as just another warm body along the back line. He’s signed on at the club through the 2024/25 season and that should be reassuring given the Blues’ contract dilemmas elsewhere. Sarr has proven that he belongs in nearly every performance up until this point. He will get few challenges greater than Manchester City and for this reason, his showing was a positive sign considering he passed that test with flying colors.
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