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Maurizio Sarri has done a terrific job at Chelsea. The West London club has rapidly undertaken a change in philosophy and approach since his arrival. This change from a defensive and at times reactive philosophy to a more proactive one in a short space of time has seen him heralded by other top coaches like Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp, speaking about Chelsea's vastly different approach under Sarri, said;
“The biggest change I ever saw in such a short space of time. Wow. Style completely different. What a manager he is, to be honest. I’m pretty much a supporter of his since I saw him at Naples. Outstanding football, and now doing it in a very interrupted pre-season. Eden (Hazard) was not there, Giroud, Kante. Starting the season and you see immediately the impact? All my respect. It’s really good to watch. Good job so far.”
However, in recent weeks the Sarri revolution has hit a rough patch. Goalless draws at West Ham and Everton coupled with defeat to Wolves and Tottenham have left Sarri in need of a big performance to raise confidence levels ahead of the busiest fixture schedule in the Premier League.
Chelsea face Manchester City next and a bad result will continue their poor form into this frenetic Christmas schedule.
Here's a look at three tactical changes Sarri should make to ensure a positive result in the City game on Saturday:
#1 Drop Alonso and play Azpilicueta at left-back
Marcos Alonso is one of the best left-backs in the Premier League. His inclusion in recent squad lists for the Spanish national team has shown that he is recognized as such at the international level.
He has been a constant menace for Chelsea down the left flank in the past two seasons. He already has a goal and three assists to his name this season.
The problem with Alonso lies in his lack of positional awareness and tendency to drift so far away from the back four. This weakness was exploited by Manchester United and Tottenham to score vital goals against Chelsea this season.
Raheem Sterling is the City player most likely to feature in the right wing position against Chelsea. Sterling has caused better defensive full-backs all sorts of problems this season. His pace and trickery have seen him score eight goals and assist a further six this season. Pep could also unleash any of Bernardo Silva, Mahrez or Sane in that position as well.
For Chelsea to contain the left side of their defense, Sarri should replace Alonso with Azpilicueta. Left back is not a new position to Azpilicueta who held down Chelsea's left back spot for years before the arrival of Marcos Alonso and is a better defender than Alonso. Zappacosta could be drafted in at right back to do a job for the Blues.
#2 Ask Kante to play deeper and closer to Jorginho
Sarri is blessed with world class midfield talent. Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Fabregas and Barkley are a group of midfielders that any manager in the world will want to have. Kante is the best defensive player of the lot.
Sarri's 4-3-3 formation requires that the holding midfielder be a deep-lying playmaker and orchestrate the passing game of the side. This has seen Jorginho and Fabregas play the holding role for Chelsea this season. Jorginho has completed more passes than any other player in the Premier League this season.
Kante has played regularly at the right side of the midfield three and can be seen occupying positions higher up the pitch than he did in previous seasons. For all their playmaking ability, Jorginho and Fabregas are not quick enough to cope with the speedsters in the league.
The position Kante now occupies leaves him high up the pitch and unable to recover possession when Chelsea lose the ball in midfield. This weakness was exploited by Wolves and Tottenham in their victories over the Blues.
In the City game, Kante must be utilised where he can be more productive. He should be asked to sit closer to Jorginho and mop up as much danger as he can while letting Jorginho continue as the technical orchestrator of the side.
#3 Drop Morata and start Giroud
Alvaro Morata was recruited from Real Madrid to ease the burden of Diego Costa's eventual departure. He started his Chelsea career in form and with very high confidence.
Things have not gone as planned since then. He has lost all the confidence that saw him among the early contenders for Golden Boot last season. He has 5 goals and zero assists to his name this term.
Morata has been culpable for missing 11 big chances this season. This places him second in the list of players with the most big chances missed in the Premier League.
Olivier Giroud has not fared any better than Morata. A return of one goal and four assists is poor from the former Gunners star. However, Giroud has missed only one big chance this term and converted the other.
In big games, clinicality in front of goal is essential to ensure a positive result. Morata's torrid record of missing big chances is not acceptable for such a big game.
Also, Giroud should oust Morata from the starting eleven because of his strength, and link up play. Chelsea supporters have grown increasingly frustrated with Morata as he keeps going down to the floor and disrupting their build up.
In a game like this against possession-loving opposition like Manchester City, the striker's holdup play will be important in how much his team can get up the pitch and hurt the opposition.
