Chelsea
Why Maurizio Sarri must forget Premier League title and target top-four finish
Maurizio Sarri’s side was tipped as one of the season’s title contenders after 12-match unbeaten record.
The Blues were rampant and awesome during the period of their unbeaten run. They were cruising from one victory to another, defeating many Premier League clubs.
Surprisingly, the Stamford Bridge outfits began to perform below par and were suddenly the shadow of themselves.
Their unimpressive display started the moment Eden Hazard found it hard to score goals but none– not even Maurizio Sarri — detected there was fire on the mountain.
The crises in the team further deepened as Alvaro Morata, who looked reborn and rejuvenated, surprisingly turned to the player he was during Conte’s last season at Stamford Bridge.
The Spaniard didn’t just miss clear-cut chances, he has become more selfish and self-centred that he didn’t bother passing to other strikers who were in better position to score.
Having seen these signs, Sarri ought to have known there is a need to tweak his starting lineup, formations and, if possible, style of play.
Instead the Italian continue with his less productive formation until he recorded his first defeat to Tottenham two weeks back.
The Lilywhites comfortably beat the Blues at Wembley and the lost opened Sarri’s eyes to the truth that he’s not a title contender yet, the manager knows that anyway.
Responding to the defeat to Tottenham, Sarri made some alterations to his starting lineup against Fulham, during week 14th fixture, as you would expect.
He gave young but talented youngster Reuben Loftus-Cheek his first start of the season as he benched misfiring Alvaro Morata.
He also gave a surprise start to Olivier Giroud who has been phenomenal for the Blues in European competition.
The change in personnel did work effectively as the young England international scored one of the goals as the Blues ended up being 2-1 winners over the Cottagers.
Another win against a small League, you would say, right? Irrespective of the team they played, three points are guaranteed and they equally returned back to winning ways – that’s the most important thing.
However, the win turned out to be a fluke as Sarri’s men were humiliated by ‘another small team’ three days later.
Wolverhampton Wanderers surprised everyone when they defeated the Blues 2-1 on Wednesday.
The Nuno Santo’s men narrowly pipped the former Premier League champions, thanks to Jota’s 62nd-minute winner.
The win didn’t just push the Blues to the fourth position on the log, but ultimately ruled them out of the race for the title.
They are now 13 points off Manchester City in the race for the title and as it stands, Sarri should bid goodbye to the ultimate prize.
He should focus on beating Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Everton and Leicester City to a top-four finish.
The listed clubs are on great form at the moment, hence, Sarri should shape up the mentality of his players and make them realize there is little gap between them and the Foxes who are 7th on the log.
