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Maurizio Sarri has officially spent over six months on the Chelsea job, having been appointed as Antonio Conte's replacement in the summer and under the 60-year-old's guidance, Chelsea currently find themselves in 4th place on the EPL log, while also making it to the last 32 of the Europa League as well as the semifinal of the Capital One Cup.
With every new manager's arrival comes an upheaval in playing pattern and Maurizio Sarri has been no exception, turning Chelsea from a pragmatic unattractive club into one of the more aesthetic sides in the Premier League.
Since Sarri's appointment, there have been noticeable improvements in some aspects of Chelsea's game, but with every positive step forward lies a concordant step backward and there have been some negative trends since Sarri's appointment. In this piece, we shall highlight three negative changes observed at Stamford Bridge since Maurizio Sarri took over.
#3 The redundancy of Cesc Fabregas
Having built the foundation of his exciting Napoli side around the dynamic Jorginho, it, therefore, came as no surprise that the Italian international was the first signing sanctioned by Sarri upon his appointment as Chelsea manager.
The 27-year-old was the fulcrum through which all of Napoli's play passed by, as Sarri made use of his unique technique ability to hold on to possession and distribute play effectively and the Italian gaffer sought to translate the same to Chelsea in his quest to transform The Blues playing pattern.
He immediately deployed Jorginho in a deep-lying playmaker role and the midfielder's impact has been noticeable, with him leading the way for passes completed this Premier League season, while also breaking the record for most passes completed in a single Premier League match.
The concordant effect of that was that Fabregas was relegated to the role of understudy to Jorginho, with the Spanish international having to settle for a spot on the subs bench, which played a huge role in his subsequent transfer to Ligue 1 outfit Monaco.
Fabregas is one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the Premier League, possessing creativity which is almost unmatched by anyone throughout the annals of the game and losing his services as a result of Sarri's reliance on Jorginho has come at a great cost to Chelsea.
#2 The Andreas Christensen factor
Having come through as one of the most highly rated prospects in the Chelsea academy, Andreas Christensen underwent a two-year loan to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga which was seen as so highly successful that Chelsea recalled him back to their first team ahead of the 2017/2018 season.
In Conte's second season in charge, Christensen proved to be an integral part of his lineup, making 27 appearances in the Premier League alone, displacing veteran Brazilian center back David Luiz at the heart of the Chelsea defense.
So far this season, it has however been a different story for the Danish international, as Maurizio Sarri has shown a distinct preference for David Luiz, with the result being that Christensen has been relegated once more to the substitutes bench and has made just one Premier League appearance thus far, with his contributions being limited to the Europa League as well as Cup competitions.
The 22-year-old is one of Chelsea's highest-rated youngsters crucial to the team's plans moving into the future and as such, his current predicament under Maurizio Sarri would be a cause of worry to all Chelsea fans.
#1 The underutilization of N'Golo Kante
Following his tireless displays from the base of midfield in Leicester's unlikely triumph in the 2016 Premier League season, N'golo Kante earned himself a well-deserved move to Chelsea the following summer.
He continued his all round hardworking performance at Chelsea and was deservedly named PFA Player of the Year as Chelsea romped to the title in Antonio Conte's first season in charge, which was an amazing feat, considering that players in Kante's position rarely get the accolades, but the diminutive 27-year-old's contributions were so obvious that he was a shoo-in for the award.
He has since established himself as arguably the premier defensive midfielder in the world, not afraid to do the dirty work and break up opposition play while his more creative teammates wreck havoc going forward.
Sarri's arrival has however seen Kante deployed in an unfamiliar role further up the field, as Jorginho occupies his preferred role at the base of midfield where he acts as a deep-lying playmaker.
While this has seen an improvement in his attacking contributions (he has scored 3 goals and assisted 2 as opposed to the one goal and assist he registered in each of the previous two seasons), there has been a concordant decline in his defensive output.
So far this season, the World Cup winner has managed 30 interceptions from 22 Premier League matches, which comes at a rate which will see him end the season considerably less than the 85, 82 and league high 156 he managed in each of the last three seasons.
His tackling rate has also nosedived, as he has managed just 36 so far this season, which comes at a lower ratio than the 113, 127 and league high 175 he made in the last three seasons respectively.
Kante's best work is best utilized as a midfield enforcer who is tasked with breaking up opposition play and while Jorginho has discharged his duties fairly efficiently, Sarri's trust in the Italian means that Kante would continue to be used out of position and this is a matter of consternation to a multitude of Chelsea fans.
