BLUE S BRAIN FREEZE
Sarri fears a ‘mental block’ will stop Chelsea challenging City for the title
MAURIZIO SARRI fears Chelsea have a mental block which will stop them being title challengers this season.
The Blues have a remarkable hold over Tottenham after winning their last four meetings at Wembley, and yet the manager has nagging doubts about his players.
Sarri (above) warned Chelsea must stop being such slow starters, having struggled to get going in their last three games, and the Italian fears they will catch a cold unless they get out of the blocks quickly.
The Blues boss said: “It’s a mental problem. In the last three matches, we had problems with our approach.
“Not only that, because we had some problems also at the beginning of the second half. So, we have to be careful. We have to be focused on this problem.
“It’s not a physical problem because, in the last part of the match, we ran a lot. It’s a mental problem.
“It’s not a tactical problem. Because in the first 15 minutes of the last three matches, the problem was the opponents were more aggressive, more determined than us.
“So, we have to approach the match in a different way, with application and determination.”
Chelsea did overcome BATE Borisov and Crystal Palace in two of those three games but were held by Everton and two dropped points cost them in the title race.
The Blues are unbeaten so far this season but are four points behind leaders Manchester City and Sarri insists they are already out of reach.
“At the moment, in the Premier League there is a team above the others. This team is Manchester City. Then there is a very good team, Liverpool. For sure, they will be in the first four positions,” he said.
“Then there are four or five teams who will have to fight for the Champions League places: Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, United, maybe somebody else.
“Usually in a season there is a surprise. No (Chelsea cannot challenge Manchester City), at the moment. For me, City are stronger than us. We have to work very hard just to try to recover the gap. But, at the moment, the gap is still there.
“We can recover, but I don’t think that, in the first season, we will be able to recover 30 points.”
Sarri also praised Spurs midfielder Christian Eriksen. Ex-Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had previously said Harry Kane would be the Spurs player he’d most like to sign, but Sarri added: “Kane is the best English striker at the moment, but I like very much Eriksen.
“He is a very smart player, a very technical player. He’s able to play in midfield and, at the same moment, score eight or nine goals in a season.”