Jose Mourinho has backed Maurizio Sarri’s second season at Chelsea to be more successful than his first.
Sarri’s stubborn style of football has been criticised at times by fans and the media and even saw him link with being sacked, though Chelsea are still in the race for a top four finish in the Premier League.
What has gone wrong during Sarri’s first season at Chelsea? Five key things to know…
- Chelsea started the season with promise and looked prepared to fight Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title.
- The Blues have since fallen away from the leading pack; they are now two points behind fourth-placed Manchester United with a game in hand.
- Sarri managed to lead Chelsea to the Carabao Cup final but their league form saw his position questioned before the clash with Manchester City.
- Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted during the final, drawing an angry reaction from Sarri and further questions about his leadership.
- Chelsea lost to City on penalties but have since won successive league games, beating Tottenham and Fulham in London derbies.
Mourinho has been out of work since being sacked by Manchester United just four months into his third season at Old Trafford.
The former Chelsea boss, who lost his job during the third season of his second stint at Stamford Bridge, believes Sarri will have more luck in his second campaign.
“Italy is not an easy country,” Mourinho told beIN Sports, as reported by the Evening Standard.
“You learn how to deal with the press; it is very specialised, they have top commentators [with] great experience in football, the journalists are also very clever in using the emotion of football in Italy.
“Maurizio comes to England with more than 20 years of experience in football. I think he’s ready, the main difficulty is imposing his style of play which is the way he always played with Napoli.
“The Premier League is the [league] where you sometimes have to lose your identity a bit to adapt to the characteristics of the game and the opponents.
“He will learn in time, the second season will be better for him.”
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Will Sarri be given a second season?
Chelsea are infamously impatient with managers, switching coaches at the end of the season on multiple occasions over recent years.
The Blues will re-enter the top four in the Premier League if they win their game in hand, but failing to qualify for the Champions League could spell danger for Sarri.
Indeed, the Londoners could deem missing out on a top finish as a failure worthy of the sack, meaning Sarri’s first spell in England could end after just one season.
If they manage to qualify for the Champions League, the Chelsea board may be patient and give Sarri a second season to prove his worth.
The post Mourinho backs Chelsea boss Sarri to enjoy improved second season appeared first on Squawka News.
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