Chelsea’s march to matchday 13 in the Premier League has been stellar up until now but the defeat to Tottenham Hotspur has sparked the undoubted truth that the real test for Maurizio Sarri is to come.
The Italian tactician has created a calm atmosphere within the squad at Stamford Bridge with his side soaring high each time they play this season. The first three months of Premier League action were filled with a supreme quality in possession although the signs were clear on the streets of London that the dark days were yet to come.
Sarri’s top secret is out now and teams will begin to exploit that. Jorginho’s poor performances in the last two games showed the way.
Against Spurs, Chelsea looked cut off from their usual source of retaining the ball. They were ultimately shut off after Mauricio Pochettino made sure the Brazilian could barely function in his deep-lying midfield role. N’Golo Kante has also been left stranded on the right of the three-man midfield. The energy still lingers but his dominance over the opposition has been missing lately.
Sarri needs to create a plan B to deal with teams that find his side out. The real engine of the team is being dealt with as Everton and Spurs have proved, and now Sarri needs to invent a way to get his highly-paid stars to get back to winning ways.
