Sarri to play the Grinch for busy Chelsea
THERE will be no Yuletide fun and frolics at Chelsea this year under Maurizio Sarri.
Facing a packed schedule of six games in 17 days, the manager will have his players training on Christmas Day and even the morning before their Boxing Day clash with Watford at Vicarage Road.
But far from being worried about the hectic fixture list, which starts with today’s home clash against Leicester, Sarri would rather be at games than unwrapping presents.
“Do I enjoy Christmas? No, I like to play football more,” he said. “In Italy we played over Christmas and I liked it very much. In the stadiums, there was a wonderful atmosphere.
“There is no Christmas for us. We have to play every three days. So we will be in training on Christmas Day and on Boxing Day before the match. Is there a present I want this year? No. No Christmas for me, so no present.”
Sarri will play talisman Eden Hazard as a false nine again against Leicester today and is adamant the Belgian loves the position.
Sarri used Hazard at centreforward in his side’s last two league games – earning wins against Manchester
City and Brighton – and he intends to do it again even though Olivier Giroud is fit and Alvaro Morata has returned to full training after a knee injury.
Hazard played in the same role under Antonio Conte last season and admitted he did not enjoy it, saying after a loss at Manchester City, “We could have played on for three hours and I wouldn’t touch a ball.” But Sarri said: “Eden told me that he likes playing there very much. I wasn’t here last season, so I don’t know why Eden told people that. “But at the moment he likes to play there. “The solution is good, because we played a very good match against City and against Brighton we were very dangerous for 60 minutes. “I was sure about the match against City that Hazard in that position could do well. Now I want to see the same situation in a match against a very compact team.
“There isn’t a best position for Eden. He is a wonderful player with a very high level of imagination. He needs to be let free on the pitch.
“But we need to have a very high level of organisation to help with his movements.”
Sarri will be without injured defender Andreas Christensen but said the Dane – subject of a bid by Barcelona – was not for sale.
“He has not played very often in the Premier League but has played all the other matches. He will be even more important in the future.”