VINDICATED
Sarri dumps Kepa then Willy repels Tottenham
IT WAS a night of redemption for Maurizio Sarri as Chelsea’s 2-0 win all but ended Spurs’ title hopes.
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. ‘That we are a group and not 25 players.’
Kepa’s replacement, Willy Caballero, was mobbed by team-mates at the final whistle as he emerged as one of the heroes. However, under-fire Sarri insists he will reinstate Kepa
as his No 1 in either Sunday’s game against Fulham or next week’s Europa League clash against Dynamo Kiev as he seeks to draw a line under the furore. Sarri said he had no option but to drop his £72million goalkeeper. ‘It was really very easy because Kepa made a big mistake and then paid (a fine) with the club. In this match he has to pay for the team. Now we stop the question, it is behind us and in the future Kepa will be with us. ‘He is still our No 1 goalkeeper. I don’t know if he will be on the pitch in the next match or not, but in one of the next two, for sure. ‘We cannot kill him. When you are young, I think you can make mistakes. The most important thing is that you need to understand very well, after every mistake. So now, for me, the issue is closed.’ Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino refused to panic, despite a second successive defeat after losing at Burnley. ‘We play Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday with the gap at four points. Everyone from the beginning of the season should be satisfied with that position. The pressure’s on them, not only us.’