Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri insists his side cannot be considered as Premier League title contenders just yet, despite Saturday’s thrilling win over Arsenal.
Having beaten Huddersfield Town in their season-opener, the Blues prevailed 3-2 at Stamford Bridge to make it back-to-back top-flight victories at the start of Sarri’s tenure.
Marcos Alonso’s late strike proved decisive after Arsenal had fought back from two goals down, but Sarri tempered any talk of challenging for the championship by suggesting he still had plenty of work to do.
“No, not in this moment,” he said when asked if his side were among the favourites. “We did very well in the last 25 minutes, but I think we have to work.
“We have to improve in the defensive phase and I’m not talking about only the defenders. The defensive phase of all the team, all the players.
“If we press very high, we are able to do well. But, at the other moments, when we are not able to press in the other half, we are in trouble. So I think we have to work and we need to improve.”