Sarri defends Chelsea’s “engine” after a merciless boo by fans

Maurizio Sarri defended Jorginho after Chelsea supporters booed the midfielder when he came on against Malmo.

The Blues boss brought on the Italian, who is seen as the centrepiece of ‘Sarriball’, in the 76th minute and some jeers rang round Stamford Bridge.

Sarri claimed after their 3-1 win that the first 30 minutes highlighted the importance of Jorginho to his system. 

‘In the first 30 minutes we understood why Jorginho is very important for our team,’ Sarri said.

‘We were in trouble to exit from our half, on pressing. With Jorginho, it’s easier I think.

‘I hope that our fans will be able to understand that Jorginho, for us, is really a very important player.’ 

Jorginho came on for Ross Barkley, who has been much more accustomed to swapping with Mateo Kovacic. So far this season, Sarri has made this change 20 times. 

The Chelsea boss has come under fire for his stubbornness in his tactics this season, especially after it seemed Premier League teams were starting to figure out his system.

A 2-0 loss to Arsenal, a 4-0 loss to Bournemouth, a 6-0 defeat by Manchester City, and an FA Cup exit at the hands of Manchester United have left the Italian clinging on to his job.

Opposing teams have tended to target Jorginho, who had an impressive start to life in England as Chelsea made an unbeaten start to the season.  

On Thursday, a routine 5-1 aggregate win over Malmo in the Europa League might have appeased a few fans for now, but a League Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday and a visit from Tottenham a few days later will be a much bigger test for Chelsea’s under-pressure manager. 

 

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