Maurizio Sarri knew the real test was to come. He had predicted upon his arrival this summer that the going will really get tough in his first three months of his reign. Though, that prediction has proved futile with Chelsea going 12 games unbeaten heading into Saturdays London derby with Chelsea. Many had even tipped Chelsea to join the leagues strongest title contenders according to public opinion – Manchester City and Liverpool.
Chelsea have looked mightily impressive in these first few months of the season winning eight of their 12 games so far. Not even Sarri himself would have predicted such a start to the season, with his players comfortably and swiftly adjusting to his ‘Sarri-ball’ philosophy; high pressing intensity, intricate passing and a huge emphasis on attacking football – a huge shift from his predecessor Antonio Conte. Whatever changes and tinkering Sarri forced unto his side after last seasons domestic disappointment really worked a treat – not forgetting Eden Hazard’s re-emergence and major output into much of Chelsea’s play. The signing of Jorginho – the man central to much of Sarri’s success at Napoli looked to have the same sort of impact.
Despite all of Chelsea’s early success, Sarri still had the courage to play down Chelsea’s title challenge despite keeping in touching distance with the two favourites for much of the early stages of the season. Saturdays derby against Tottenham highlighted many reasons as to why Sarri remains pessimistic about Chelsea’s chances. It was the real test that Sarri kept on revelling about. Now we will find out just how good the Italian coach is.
Nobody would have expected Chelsea to come this far unbeaten. However, there is the old saying that whatever goes up must come down and Mauricio’s Pochettino’s impressive Tottenham side inflicted the kind of derby defeat that would have had any other manager in the opposite dugout worried. The draw at Everton and Saturday’s defeat handed out one key lesson for the rest of Chelsea’s upcoming opponents. Stop Jorginho and you stop Chelsea.
For certain, Eden Hazard is Chelsea’s talisman and the star name in the line-up but there aren’t many players who you can say is the heartbeat of a side so much so that when you target them, the whole team stops functioning. That element was certainly the case at Wembley on Sunday. Jorginho – the heartbeat of this Chelsea side, the player that keeps things ticking over, the cog in a well oiled machine. The Italian midfield maestro is primarily the reason for Chelsea’s unbeaten start. Tottenham Mauricio Pochettino addressed that area of concern for his mean and executed it to perfection, the same area Everton coach Marco Silva expertly focused when his side gained an impressive point at Stamford Bridge. Then it was Richarlison giving the duties to keep tight on Jorginho, on Saturday it was Dele Alli’s turn to follow suit and boy, did he do it with aplomb, scoring the opener in what was a masterful showing from him and his team mates, which took Tottenham to within two points ahead of their London neighbours in the Premier League standings.
Nevertheless, Saturday’s defeat was a huge wake up call, if anything, for Maurizio Sarri and highlighted his need for a plan B if ever Jorginho gets marked out of the game once again. At times, after he netted the opening goal, Dele Alli was almost man marking Jorginho and the former Napoli midfielder could not find any means to respond with the pair almost coming to blows at one point during the game. Not only did Pochettino’s game plan halt the genius of Jorginho but it also poured out the pressure on N’Golo Kante who this week was rewarded with new five-year contract at the club worth £300,000-a-week. However, the French terrier finds himself in an unfamiliar position in Sarri’s system. No longer the workhorse in the middle, the player primed with the responsibility to break up attacks and keep it ticking in the middle, it is instead Jorginho who has been handed those duties. Much of Chelsea’s play hinges on the two midfielders – either side of Jorginho – whether it be Kante, Mateo Kovacic or Ross Barkley to roam forward and link-up play with the three attackers – a role Kante has never been familiar with. Tottenham addressed that weakness with distribution was never being Kante’s acumen, forcing him into errors and giving the ball away in key areas.
It should have been Kante chasing down Hueng-Min Son in his own half, but instead he was caught high up field as Jorginho was left trying halting Son’s marauding run, to absolutely no avail as the South Korean winger ran riot and killed off the whole spectacle. A sight to behold. The dribbling, technique, awareness and the composure to simply pass the ball into the back of the net below the despairing Kepa. A goal once again highlighting the underrated qualities of Son Hueng-Min, a player not liked by some but very much appreciated by the Tottenham faithful. Mauricio Pochettino knew the threat Son would cause, no wonder he was desperate to have not have the player go off on International duty with South Korea during the break, and it paid off with a scintillating display – what’s even worse for Chelsea is that Son should have at least got himself a hat-trick.
What’s for certain is despite Chelsea’s brilliance this season, Maurizio Sarri still has a lot to learn on the back of this defeat to their London rivals. The Italian must now work out another formula in case any of his rivals figure out his tactical approach to games. Though to give him the benefit of the doubt, this is a squad he has inherited bar Jorginho and there will be a lot of time for Sarri to put his own stamp on the squad heading into the future. We are all pretty certain a striker would be on Sarri’s main agenda as Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata have struggled to grab a hold of their opportunities and its only a matter of time before they’re replaced.
Sarri’s honeymoon period is officially over. Now the hard work really begins if Sarri really is to mount a serious title challenge.
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