VINDICATED
Sarri dumps Kepa then Willy repels Tottenham
IT WAS a night of redemption for Maurizio Sarri last night as Chelsea all but ended Tottenham’s title hopes with a 2-0 win.
The Chelsea boss dropped goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to the bench after his refusal to be substituted at Wembley in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester City.
‘It’s a message to my group,’ said Sarri (right). ‘That we are a group and not 25 players. ’
He was rewarded with a clean sheet for Kepa’s replacement, Willy Caballero.
Liverpool remain a point clear at the top after thrashing Watford 5-0 while Manchester City beat West Ham 1-0 at the Etihad.
SETTING aside the result for a moment, this was a night of many victories for beleaguered Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri.
Perhaps the biggest came after 59 minutes. Chelsea were leading by then, through a well-taken goal by Pedro, playing arguably his best game of the season.
Yet, even so, when the board was raised to reveal Willian would be coming on for Eden Hazard, it could have been awkward. The fans might not take too kindly to Sarri withdrawing their most gifted player, against such dangerous opponents.
Equally, Hazard might not like it, either. But there it was: not a murmur of dissent from the locals, not a flicker of annoyance from the player. Hazard marched smartly off, got a passing hug of thanks from Sarri, and gave him a pat on the back in return. Maybe the nadir was also a turning point. Maybe there was more to this than a manager simply deciding to go down doing it his way.
Maybe the players have acknowledged the acts of mutiny went too far; maybe the executives have empowered Sarri in their conversations. Certainly, he no longer looked a stooge as Chelsea beat Tottenham, deservedly, administering what is surely the final blow to their title ambitions.
Nine points adrift now, eight points off second place, it would need two teams to collapse for Tottenham to stand a chance of challenging now.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are back in the mix for the Champions League spots. They were the better team here; urgent and faster than they have been, a lot nearer to what we understand as Sarriball.
In relegating insubordinate goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to the bench, Sarri also asserted his authority — and was vindicated as Willy Caballero performed competently to keep a clean sheet. Whether Sarri wishes to reinforce the point that mutineers will not be quickly forgiven by keeping faith with Caballero at Fulham on Sunday remains to be seen.
Tottenham were looking for the first home and away league victories over Chelsea since 1971, but that never looked likely. Pedro’s goal capped a splendid performance. He picked up a ball down the right from Cesar Azpilicueta, cut inside Toby Alderweireld and, as Davinson Sanchez lunged in desperation, stuck the ball through the legs of Hugo Lloris.
If further proof Sarri’s luck may be changing were needed, in the 84th minute the outcome was confirmed by one of those goals that are as humiliating as they are damaging. Caballero aimed a long goal-kick forward, which Olivier Giroud flicked on. Kieran Trippier tried to shepherd it back to Lloris, but a lack of communication left the keeper in no man’s land, as his defender passed the ball into his own net. The mockery was loud.
There is always an edge when these teams meet, and so it was last night. The tackles go in, hard and not always fair, and the mood simmers, bubbling away, waiting to catch.
The first-half flashpoint came after 24 minutes, when Trippier went down claiming to have caught a blow to the head.
Chelsea were away and in a good position, but Mateo Kovacic was instructed to put the ball into touch as the play ground to a halt, an instruction that left him obviously infuriated. From the restart — Trippier’s injuries turning out non-life threatening — Tottenham returned the ball to their defenders, not to Chelsea, for it to be kicked deep downfield. This was duly done, but it arrived at an awkward height for David Luiz to control.
As he got to grips with the bouncing ball, Harry Kane sensed an opportunity and closed him down. Luiz got out of trouble but took furious exception to this and when the ball went dead several phases later, he let Kane know.
The Tottenham man reacted, dipping his head towards Azpilicueta, who nobly chose not to use this to his advantage, perhaps saving Kane from a red card.
Interesting that Azpilicueta should decide to come over all masterful four days too late, but a lot about Chelsea’s mood seems to
have been altered by their public shaming. After that, the heat went up a notch.
Willy Caballero came out to take a Tottenham free-kick and was so intent on carrying all before him that he temporarily laid out his own player, Antonio Rudiger — although as the defender was the man who prevented Sarri putting one on Arrizabalaga at Wembley on Sunday, maybe it was not as innocent as it looked.
It was a quiet half for Caballero, truth be told, with Tottenham barely threatening the Chelsea goal until an excellent spell five minutes before half-time.
Then, Kane had a shot deflected for a corner by Azpilicueta, and soon after fed Christian Eriksen for a mighty shot from distance.
Caballero hardly covered himself in glory for that one, putting up a cursory hand of resistance as if confident the shot was going over the bar, only for it to dip dangerously and strike the woodwork.
Caballero tried to give off the vibe that he’d had it covered all the way, but he didn’t. It was a very lucky escape.
Much like Hugo Lloris’s let-off at the other end in the 19th minute, when he passed the ball straight to Pedro on the right. He fed it to Eden Hazard in the middle, who laid it back to Gonzalo Higuain. It should have been a goal but the Argentine curled it wide.
This wasn’t the only time Chelsea’s striker was found wanting from a strong position. In the sixth minute, a half-clearance from Moussa Sissoko fell to him but he snatched at the shot, sliced across it, and struck a post instead.
Azpilicueta also came close after 13 minutes when his shot appeared to hit the arms of Ben Davies on the way to goal. Andre Marriner’s verdict, accidental, although it looked a fair shout from here.
As for the crowd reaction after Sunday’s debacle, it was much as expected. Caballero received a more favourable reaction to his promotion than would have been expected, while boos and the odd expletive greeted Arrizabalaga’s presence on the bench.
The fans may not be a Sarri appreciation society, but they recognise the chain of command and that, down the Wembley way, anarchy lies.
CHELSEA (4-3-2-1): Caballero 6.5; Azpilicueta 7, Rudiger 7, Luiz 7.5, Alonso 7; Kante 7, Jorginho 6.5, Kovacic 6.5 (Loftus-Cheek 77mins); PEDRO 8, Hazard 7 (Willian 60, 6); Higuain 6.5 (Giroud 84). Subs not used: Arrizabalaga, Barkley, Christensen, Hudson-Odoi. Scorers: Pedro 57, Trippier OG 84. Booked: Luiz. Manager: Maurizio Sarri 7.5. TOTTENHAM (4-1-2-1-2): Lloris 5; Trippier 5, Alderweireld 6, Sanchez 6, Davies 6; Winks 6.5; Sissoko 6.5 (Rose 85), Eriksen 6.5; Lamela 6 (Llorente 70, 6); Son 6.5 (Moura 80), Kane 6.5. Subs not used: Gazzaniga, Aurier, Foyth, Wanyama. Booked: Kane. Manager: Mauricio Pochettino 6.5. Referee: Andre Marriner 6.5.