Maurizio must win derby to buy more time in job

MAURIZIO SARRI may have cleared the air with Kepa Arrizabalaga but he could still be clearing his desk this week.

Sarri was a dead man walking at Chelsea even before Kepa’s refusal to be substituted turned Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final into such a farce.

The best the under-fire Italian can hope for now is a stay of execution. But the writing has been on the wall for some time.

Sarri’s future has been discussed at board level, his ability to turn things around debated and potential replacements weighed up.

Losing a domestic cup final on penalties was never likely to be the final straw for owner Roman Abramovich, who didn’t even bother to show up at Wembley.

But losing tomorrow to a Spurs team already 10 points above Chelsea in the table would not go down well in the corridors of power at Stamford Bridge.

Sarri’s side have lost six of their last 12 games and there is a growing feeling around the club that his demise is becoming inevitable. Chelsea sources insisted after Sunday’s defeat to Manchester City that they saw positive signs, and it’s true that Sarri surprised many by tearing up his usual game plan.

For weeks he had been criticised for being too stubborn and too wedded to the same players.

But he threw all that out of the window at Wembley, and very nearly pulled it off.

Out went unpopular left-back Marcos Alonso and Chelsea played a pragmatic version of ‘Sarriball’, sitting off and setting traps for the champions.

By the end of the game they had Eden Hazard, Gonzalo Higuain and Callum HudsonOdoi on the pitch together and looked more likely to win it.

Afterwards, defender David Luiz claimed that Sarri deserves more respect, stressing that Chelsea’s players are all united behind their beleaguered manager.

The Brazil centre-back said: “That’s why we played an amazing game.

“We also wanted to show that with our