Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri has been described as stubborn lately, largely because he has stuck to a small set of players for his starting line-ups, and constantly makes the same changes over and over again.
His obstinacy and inflexibility with his tactics and player selection have worn down Chelsea fans who want no more after their 2-0 loss at home to Manchester United in the FA Cup. They made their concerns known loudly with chants for Callum Hudson-Odoi and cheers when substitutions were made by their manager.
So often this season, a template has been used by Sarri. Ross Barkley will replace Mateo Kovacic and vice-versa, as will Pedro and Willian swap roles on the pitch. Even Olivier Giroud and the now-departed Alvaro Morata have had their fair share of handshakes and hugs on the touchline in the middle of games.
Belgium journalist Kristof Terreur has outlined the frequency in the changes Sarri makes and can be seen below:
Maurizio Sarri has made 124 substitutions since he’s in charge of Chelsea:
13x Barkley on for Kovacic
8x Pedro on for Willian
7x Kovacic on for Barkley
7x Giroud on for Morata
6x Willian on for PedroWillian subbed off most (22), followed by Kovacic 2nd (19) & Pedro (18).#cfc pic.twitter.com/lOzqoU1lGC
— Kristof Terreur (@kristofterreur) February 19, 2019
It’s perhaps this template that had made the Blues all too predictable under Sarri. The losses and drop of points in the league have been directed to the former Napoli tactician’s invariable tactics and now Chelsea sit sixth in the Premier League and out of the FA Cup in just one-week full of poor results.
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