Sarri plays dodgeball as Blues win it
AS CHELSEA fans filtered into the Malmo squares last night, the theme of the conversation would be quite clear. Did this result represent a blanket over the flames? Or is there life yet in the ailing reign of Maurizio Sarri?
For 58 minutes of this fraught encounter, another team in blue and white promised to deepen the malaise inflicting Sarri.
After Manchester City’s balletic exhibition at the Etihad, this was an altogether different experience for Chelsea but for a while, it threatened to be equally haunting. After a lesson in the beautiful game by Pep Guardiola’s side, along came Malmo.
The Swedes are a hard-nosed, gritty, energetic team that asked rather different questions of Chelsea. And then, in one glorious, sweeping move, Sarri’s vision came to life. Chelsea were leading through a Ross Barkley goal but under the cosh and managing the match rather awkwardly.
The second, however, was Chelsea’s first truly fluid attack of the evening. It began with Sarri’s essential figure, Jorginho, who was harried in central midfield but he hoodwinked his opponents, threading a pass that broke the lines and saw Barkley running over halfway with menace. Barkley carried the ball purposefully, teed up Willian, who crossed low and Olivier Giroud turned in the crucial second.
Amid the latest bout of pressure overwhelming their manager, both the result and Chelsea’s second-half confidence and swagger seemed to be a statement.
A level of belief has been restored ahead of matches against Manchester United in the FA Cup and City in the Carabao Cup final that will go a long way to defining Sarri’s reign.
Chairman Bruce Buck, who sat in on Sarri’s pre-match press conference, also took in a closeup pitchside view of the players going through their warm-ups.
File this away, therefore, as a result urgently required for Sarri particuarly as in the first half, the home side challenged Chelsea’s resilience and the answers were not always convincing.
The breakthrough, when it came in the 30th minute, represented Chelsea’s first shot on target and Barkley seemed surprised as he initially stumbled when Pedro’s cross landed at his feet. The midfielder settled himself and slipped the ball under the goalkeeper. Remarkably, Chelsea’s first away goal of the calendar year had arrived on Valentine’s Day.
Away from home, Chelsea had lost their past four matches, conceding 13 and failing to score. The manager made five changes from the side that collapsed in Manchester. Marcos Alonso was axed and there were rests for Antonio Rudiger, N’Golo Kante, Eden Hazard and Gonzalo Higuain. But Callum HudsonOdoi had to make do once more with a place on the bench, coming on with six minutes left.
After the opener, Chelsea should have asserted their authority. Yet instead the more compelling reaction came from Malmo. Anders Christiansen’s longdistance strike dipped over and Chelsea then rode their luck from set-pieces, with Soren Rieks and Markus Rosenberg both going close.
Malmo manager Uwe Rosler had set the tie up with much bravado. The former Manchester City striker spoke of his joy during Chelsea’s 6-0 defeat and warned that the ‘stadium would be cooking’.
Chelsea are an experienced team and should not be intimidated by that. And yet they were. During a fraught opening period, Sarri’s team continued to lapse. David Luiz misplaced passes, their midfielders were beaten in 50-50 challenges.
Yet Malmo sorely lack quality. They are also out of practice. Their domestic campaign ended in November and a training camp in Marbella, plus a handful of friendlies, is not ideal. There was always the suspicion they may tire and after a lively start to the second half, so it proved. Chelsea should have added more goals, first when Barkley was superbly denied by Johan Dahlin and then when Pedro curled wide.
But then, even when Chelsea looked safe, angst crept into their play. Kante and Hazard were by now on the field but suddenly the Chelsea defence parted and Christiansen sped through to score offer hope to the home crowd.
But in the end, this was welcome respite for Sarri. How long it will last remains another question entirely.
MALMO (4-4-2): Dahlin 6; Vindheim 6, Nielsen 5, Bengtsson 6.5, Safari 6; Traustaon 7 (Lewicki 70min, 6), Christiansen 7 (Gall 82), Bachirou 6, Rieks 6; Antonsson 6 (Strandberg 70), Rosenberg 6. Subs not used: Melicharek, Larsson, Binaku, Ahmedhodzic. Scorer: Christiansen 80. Booked: None. Manager: Uwe Rosler 6. CHELSEA (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga 6; Azpilicueta 6, Christensen 6, Luiz 5.5, Emerson 6; Kovacic 6, Jorginho 7 (Kante 74, 6), BARKLEY 7.5; Pedro 6 (Hudson-Odoi 84), Giroud 6, Willian 6.5 (Hazard 71, 6). Subs not used: Rudiger, Higuain, Caballero, Zappacosta. Scorers: Barkley 30, Giroud 58. Booked: None. Manager: Maurizio Sarri 6. Referee: Aleksey Kulbakov (Belarus) 6. Attendance: 20,312.