SARRI’S… SMOKIN’!
Huddersfield chewed up as Chelsea put on a show for new boss
Hypnotically transparent, Maurizio Sarri. Just watch him on the touchline: jigging, spinning, gesticulating. He is a fascination, an open book, and his team have already turned a few pages of his manual.
yet what can be gleaned most from Sarri on this debut are not the agitated instructions he barks or the chunters to Gianfranco Zola on the bench behind. no, it is how much sucking he does.
For 35 minutes in West yorkshire, the italian fretted. Huddersfield were not great but they carried some threat and it got to the chelsea manager. the 59-year-old reached for the trusty fag packet. it was not there. there was a substitute instead. not ideal but a substitute all the same.
it looked like the butt of a cigarette but nobody is quite sure and Sarri remained tight-lipped when asked. Regardless, it is providing him relief and we can see when he needs it. From tracksuit pocket to mouth, back again. Repeat to fade.
in one sense Sarri is no different from pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho or Jurgen Klopp — it is blindingly obvious what they are thinking. Sarri reached less frequently for his butts once n’Golo Kante scored and Jorginho netted a penalty. By the time pedro added a third, owing much to the genius of Eden Hazard, Sarri barely fidgeted for them at all.
like his friend Guardiola, who scratches his head on the touchline when he is feeling the strain, we will always know how Sarri is feeling. on Saturday he was anxious over £72million goalkeeper Kepa arrizabalaga, who acquitted himself well and claimed one cross just before half-time that indicated he is no shrinking violet.
He was nervous to see whether chelsea would gain a foothold. He need not have been. Jorginho ran the game with a passing accuracy of 93.94 per cent and waited for Huddersfield keeper Ben Hamer to commit himself before rolling in the most casual of penalties.
Just as importantly, David luiz marshalled the defence as the Blues switched from the back three system favoured by former manager antonio conte to a more conventional four.
luiz had not played in the premier league since February. conte did not fancy him but Sarri has new ideas. ‘i disagree that he can only play as one of three central defenders,’ Sarri said. ‘if you are a good defender you can play in a defensive line of three and you can also play in a four.
‘David has a big future here. He will be very useful for us but not just on the pitch. He is also important in the dressing room.
‘i don’t know about what happened in the past but now he has a good chance. We only have to carry on like we are doing now with him.’
So Sarri-ball is already in full swing. Four at the back, methodical through midfield and lightning when space opens up in the final third. there is a new slot in the system for Kante, a box-to-box role that requires him to motor through even more work, and genuine wing play demanded of the versatile Willian. Jorginho is the fulcrum and chelsea appear quite happy to play right on top of Kepa, such is the confidence in the 23-year-old keeper’s footwork.
Sarri ruled out Hazard joining thibaut courtois at Real Madrid in the coming weeks and it could be that the Belgian plays as a false nine if patience with alvaro Morata wears thin. Morata was bawled at in the first half for a lack of energy and closing down of Huddersfield’s back three, although he became more enthusiastic as the game progressed.
‘ Kante has to attack,’ Sarri said. ‘i am very happy with his performance in this match especially when he arrived less than a week ago (from his post-World cup holiday). So i am very, very impressed with him.’
What about Kepa, the most expensive goalkeeper in world football? Huddersfield barely tested him — three saves needed to be made — and their best chance came when Steve Mounie struck the post at 1-0.
‘He tried to speak as much as he can,’ said antonio Rudiger. ‘He did well with that and we as defenders needed to help him. We all know thibaut’s quality, but thibaut is not a chelsea player any more.
‘i wish him good luck at Real Madrid but now we have to concentrate on Kepa because he’s our goalkeeper. in his work he’s very confident.’
another goalkeeping debutant, Hamer, was less assured at the other end. Huddersfield manager David Wagner claimed it was ‘not a big decision’ to drop Jonas lossl but it is hard to imagine theDenmark international not returning at Manchester city next week.
‘What happened last season does not count,’ Wagner said. ‘it is all about the present, the past is history. Hamer played a very good pre- season. Jonas didn’t come back in the best shape, he knows that. He wasn’t in the best form.’
HUDDERSFIELD (3-5-2): Hamer 5; Jorgensen 5, Schindler 6, Kongolo 6; Hadergjonaj 6, Mooy 5.5, Hogg 5, Billing 6.5, Lowe 6 (Diakhaby 71, 6); Pritchard 5 (Depoitre 46, 6), Mounie 6. Subs not used: Lossl, Smith, Sobhi, Van La Parra, Stankovic. Booked: Schindler, Kongolo. CHELSEA (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga 7; Azpilicueta 6, Luiz 7.5, Rudiger 7, Alonso 7; Barkley 7 (Loftus-Cheek 68, 6), Kante 7.5, JORGINHO 8; Willian 7.5 (Hazard 76), Morata 6, Pedro 7 (Moses 81). Subs not used: Caballero, Giroud, Zappacosta, Christensen. Scorers: Kante 34, Jorginho 45 pen, Pedro 80. Booked: Luiz. Referee: Chris Kavanagh 5. Attendance: 24,121.