Wizard Maurizio hails spellbinding Blues performance as ‘my football’
Hazard Barkley Morata
AFTER watching Alvaro Morata finish off a flowing 31-pass move to cap a crushing win, Maurizio Sarri declared: “This is my football.”
Chelsea might have sported a new ocean blue kit on the South Coast but the Italian’s attacking style is already becoming devastatingly familiar.
As well as the luminous orange socks, Eden Hazard added his usual colour with his ninth goal in nine games.
And brilliant Ross Barkley (right) lit up St Mary’s with an assist and his first goal for Chelsea.
But the piece de resistance of their 11th consecutive game unbeaten – and the latest example of Sarri-ball in action – came in stoppage time with the game already won.
The most passes before any goal in the Premier League this season ended with Hazard slipping the ball through for Morata to score for the second time in a week.
It was a trainingground goal on the Premier League stage.
From title contenders.
“Is this how I want my team to play? Something like this,” said Sarri. “We moved the ball very quick. I think one touch, maximum two touches and we arrived at the goal so easily. I think it’s my football. It was my favourite goal and I can see my football in this.”
The former Napoli coach was not totally happy – “today we could do better” – but was pleased with Morata’s relative goal glut before the international break.
“It’s always very important for the striker to score,” he said. “The performance was also very important and Alvaro has played very well in the Europa League and today in last 30 minutes. He can restart easy now.”
Chelsea next host former boss Jose Mourinho and Manchester United in what promises to be a more fraught affair. Yesterday the Blues dominated, with 86 per cent possession in an opening 15 minutes which saw a Willian shot deflected on to the bar and the Saints get off to an inexplicably sluggish start.
When they had the ball, Southampton looked dangerous, Danny Ings somehow volleying over from inside the box after 26 minutes. It was to prove a psychologically-damaging miss as four minutes later Chelsea took the lead.
Barkley dispossessed Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the Saints half and released Hazard to score with his usual deadly precision. Sir Alex Ferguson famously ordered United to change out of their tepid grey kits at half-time at Southampton in 1996 but Mark Hughes could have swapped any number of his players at the break.
The Saints boss, who kept the three centre-back system from their midweek Carabao Cup win, brought on Oriol Romeu and he became one of five home players booked trying to stem the tide.
Hughes complained about Chelsea blocking for Willian’s 57thminute free-kick when Olivier Giroud volleyed across goal for Barkley to bundle home. That was not the difference between these sides.
Kepa Arrizabalaga then kept out stinging shots from Nathan Redmond and Ings – to ensure Chelsea have still conceded only once on the road this season – before Morata’s masterclass.
At full-time – before the late game had kicked off – Chelsea were top of the table.
“I think Manchester City and Liverpool are a step forward of us,” said Sarri (right). “The gap was 30 points City to Chelsea and we’re trying to close the gap. But it is very difficult to close such large gap in one season.”
Hazard added: “It’s too early to be thinking about the title, we know it’s tough to win.
“But it is good to be up there.”