The incident in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final was regrettable for so many reasons and Maurizio Sarri was not the only person to look on in disbeliefJust two weeks ago we were mourning the death of England’s greatest goalkeeper, a man who did his job without fuss. It would be presumptuous to guess the reaction of Gordon Banks, were he still alive, to the behaviour of Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday but it’s hard to imagine any footballer of his generation not being appalled by the young Basque’s display of insubordination, for which he belatedly apologised on Monday evening.It is not just the orientation of the Wembley pitch from north-south to east-west that has been radically modified...
Refusal of keeper to be substituted near end of extra time undermined manager’s good work in League Cup finalAt times during his winter dissolve on the Chelsea touchline Maurizio Sarri has had something of the tracksuit-clad King Lear about him, striding his chalk square, whipped by the to-and-fro conflicting winds, raging at ingratitude and insubordination. By the end of this Carabao Cup final he had been transformed into something else, something more terminal; had become instead the fool. Related: Sarri and Kepa try to play down substitution ‘misunderstanding’ 'Poor Sarri. This really was the final, and very public, indignity'Twitter: follow us at @guardian_sport Related: Manchester City win Carabao Cup on penalties after Chelsea’s Kepa chaos Continue reading...
Under-pressure manager buys himself more time with passage through to the last 16 of the Europa LeagueAfter the tumultuous week he has endured, you cannot blame Maurizio Sarri for taking just about anything right now. Three days on from his side’s meek surrender in the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Manchester United, the embattled Chelsea manager arrived here knowing that anything less than a smooth progression to the last 16 of Europe’s secondary club competition was likely to spell the end of his reign.That scenario, at least, was averted as second-half goals from Olivier Giroud, Ross Barkley and Callum Hudson‑Odoi eased Chelsea’s passage through the Europa Cup against opponents who never gave up hope that they might rescue something from...
Maurizio Sarri is serving up predictable, sterile football and some choices are hard to fathom but Chelsea share the blame for this messChelsea fans don’t often turn on their manager. They don’t usually have time. But there, distinct in the cool February air, just six days before they play in a cup final, it was: “Fuck Sarri-ball! Fuck Sarri-ball! Fuck Sarri-ball!” Add in the booing at the final whistle and the chants for Callum Hudson‑Odoi throughout the second half and it’s fair to say the Matthew Harding Stand has made its mind up about Maurizio Sarri.Fans are not always right, of course, as a notorious Old Trafford bedsheet of the late 80s makes clear, and boards must make their own...
The clubs are meeting in the FA Cup’s tie of the round after sobering defeats last weekThe fast-moving world of football has managed to overtake what promised to be an FA Cup treat at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. When the draw was made, Chelsea’s pairing with Manchester United was the obvious fifth-round highlight, but that was before both clubs suffered chastening setbacks.Chelsea suffered their heaviest defeat of the Premier League era at the hands of Manchester City last Sunday, a 6-0 thrashing that left Maurizio Sarri in a state of shock. It is highly unlikely that Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s United will be quite so ruthless and relentless, though with a Carabao Cup final against City due at the end...