ZCZC
BSP-17
FBL-ENG-PR-CHELSEA-SARRI-LUIZ
Chelsea players support Sarri philosophy, says Luiz
LONDON, Jan 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Maurizio Sarri has the full support of the
Chelsea players who have signed up to his philosophy says David Luiz despite
the manager blasting them in the wake of Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Luiz, who has become a pivotal figure in Sarri’s team after being
sidelined last season by Antonio Conte, said it is remarkable how quickly
Sarri has been successful in implementing his playing philosophy at the club.
While that was successful initially, Chelsea’s form has slumped of late
with just two wins in their last five matches in all competitions, failing to
score in three of those.
Arsenal and a resurgent Manchester United are just three points off
Chelsea, who occupy the fourth and last Champions League spot.
Sarri is trying to rectify the scoring problem by offloading misfiring
Spaniard Alvaro Morata and signing veteran Argentine Gonzalo Higuain who
flourished under him at Napoli . Luiz said the manager “was not happy” after
the match “but nobody was happy, so it was normal.”
However, the 31-year-old Brazil international defender said the players
were all behind Sarri. “Everybody is trusting his job and everybody is with
him,” said Luiz.
However, he said pointedly there was nothing wrong with the strategy and
that they just need to be sharper in front of goal.
“It is our style, it is our philosophy,” said Luiz.
“I think if you asked at the beginning of the season, ‘can Chelsea keep
the ball?’ — you would have said no.
“And now we are able to do that, like the best teams in the world, but
then we have (to) improve our last 25 metres.”
Sarri has changed things around from Conte’s time at the club.
Italy international Jorginho — whom he signed from Napoli — has been
deployed in the central midfield role which has resulted in N’Golo Kante
being moved to an unfamiliar wider role.
However, the biggest bone of contention has been the Italian’s decision to
use Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard as a “false nine” which has apparently not
been to the player’s liking.
Luiz, though, is full of praise for Sarri.
“What Sarri has done until now is unbelievable, amazing, because normally
(for) a team to understand this philosophy needs one or two years, like
Manchester City and Liverpool, who are playing very well with the ball now,”
said Luiz.
“What he has done has been amazing, so we have to try to improve the
details now.”
BSS/AFP/ARS/1615 hrs