Sarri hails Blues brothers

EDEN HAZARD and Gonzalo Higuain have already started to form a bond that can transform Chelsea’s season.

That is the belief of Maurizio Sarri, whose own relationship with the Argentina striker is set to be a key factor in whether Chelsea’s reshaped strikeforce can find success.

And Chelsea will need that new bond to strengthen tomorrow when they take on league leaders Manchester City at the Etihad.

Chelsea’s topsy-turvy season saw them crash 4-0 at Bournemouth last week before a 5-0 recovery against Huddersfield, but Sarri hopes Higuain’s arrival on loan from Juventus will change that trend.

Higuain and Hazard combined well against Huddersfield, scoring two goals each, and Sarri is convinced the partnership can only grow.

“He is very useful for Eden,” Sarri said. “They are very suitable to play together. Gonzalo is very determined, and that is important. He is already inspiring the other players. As you saw in the last match, Eden passed the ball very often to Gonzalo.

“They speak the same language with the ball, so Gonzalo will be very important for us.”

Higuain wanted to escape from an indifferent loan spell at AC Milan and rejoin his favourite coach, for whom he scored 36 goals in 35 games in Sarri’s first term at Napoli in 2015-16.

“Mentally it is the same for both of us,” Sarri said. “Gonzalo is very suitable for my football, so the feeling is fantastic. It’s a football feeling.

“Gonzalo needs confidence first of all. He needs a very good relationship with his coach, with his team-mates. Sometimes he needs a message from the coach. We will see in the future.”

After that explosive season at Napoli, Sarri said Higuain should have won the Ballon D’Or ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.

“That was a message of confidence to him,” Sarri added. “That season he was the best striker in Europe.”

Ahead of the City clash, Sarri revealed that each summer he has dinner with counterpart Pep Guardiola and AC Milan legend Arrigo Sacchi.

He said: “We have a very good relationship. I hope he speaks very well about me as a coach, as a friend. Usually, at dinner we learn from

Arrigo

Sacchi.

“Arrigo is always with us, and it’s very interesting to speak to him.”