Chelsea Back to Winning Ways - But Is Sarri Planting His Own Time Bomb as He Refuses to Make Tactical Adjustments?

This is a very interesting talking point that has been going on for quite some time this season considering Chelsea’s series of ups and downs and mostly about Sarri’s inability to make adjustments both before and during the match.

The blues are back to winning ways after their disappointing FA cup exit at home against Man United. Their win came against Malmo in the Europa League yesterday and they are through to the next round in the competition that means a lot to them at the moment.

Talking about Chelsea getting back to winning ways, let’s take a look at a brief post-match analysis of the game…

Their game against Malmo at home yesterday was a game that they needed to win to keep their champions league hope positively.

It was a much-anticipated encounter for the Chelsea fans as they were expecting to see how the team react and perform.

Chelsea were on the low going into the game which was obvious in their first-half performance but knew they were capable of getting the job done at home if the step up their game and put in a quality performance.

Malmo on the other hand, were going into the game fully motivated to revenge and overturn their 2-1 deficit in the first leg and get the job done against Chelsea in their own ground.

Brief Post-Match Analyses

Even though the blues fans were still angry about the recent poor results from the club, it was a great atmosphere at the bridge. Chelsea setup in their usual 4-3-3 formation with a few changes to the personnels, while Malmo setup in their preferred 3-5-2 formation.

The game began in quite slow fashion without much intensity in the first half, but the home team slowly grew into the game especially in the second half. Chelsea finally got the crucial opening goal of the match before scoring 2 more to ensure that the seal the tie and progress to the next round.

Giroud who has been criticized a lot this season due to his lack of goals, was the first goal scorer of the match in the 55th minute, a crucial goal that gave the blues the security they needed. A quick break away attack by Kante, who played a perfect pass to Willian, who did very well to put in a perfect low cross to find Giroud who just needed to tap the ball home for the all-important first goal.

It didn’t end there for Chelsea as Barkley doubled the lead in the 74th minute through a perfectly placed free kick to give the team the deserved cushion.

The party wasn’t over just yet as the Chelsea fans favourite at the moment Hudson Odoi made it 3 in the 84th minute, after a very nice switch play pass by Willian to find Odoi in space, who controlled the ball superbly, driving at the defender before releasing a low effort to find the bottom corner. A goal that sent the home supporters wild and happy for the talented kid who has been in good form this season.

The game ended 3 nil for Chelsea and ensured that the blues go through to the next round in the competition.

Is Sarri Planting His Own Time Bomb as He Refuses to Make Tactical Adjustments?

For me, I think so. Chelsea wanted a manager to bring in the attacking football the club has craved for a long time, but at the same time, win trophies while doing so. Sarri is a man that believes so much in his philosophy and idea of football and is not willing to change it. The issue at the moment is that these current set of players at the club are not well suited to play the type of football that Sarri requires, but he decided to stick with the players and the system with the hope that the players will learn and adapt to the system.

This is true, but Chelsea as a club isn’t known for having the patience especially when the team is getting poor results and are on the verge of losing another Champions league football next season.

In as much as it is great to have a specific style of play and stick with it, sometimes it is better for the manager to switch to a system that brings out the best out of the players available, for the meantime and just to get results when things are not going well. In the case of Sarri, he is not ready to change his formation which according to many pundits could be a self-inflicted time bomb, especially at a club like Chelsea that is known for getting rid of the manager if things are going bad.

And that is a wrap…

Is Sarri planting his own time bomb as he refuses to make tactical adjustments?

I would love to read your own opinions… Enjoy your day.