Sarrismo countered perfectly: Key winners & losers as Chelsea miss out on top four spot

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Chelsea missed out on the chance to move into the top four after a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

After being dominated for the first half, Raul Jimenez opened the scoring for Wolves capitalising on poor defending from Chelsea.

And that had looked to be the winner until Eden Hazard rescued a point for Chelsea in injury-time.

But, who were the winners and losers?

Winner: Raul Jimenez

It would be unfair to say Wolves were poor in the first half as they brilliantly frustrated Chelsea in defence, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s men offered nothing for themselves in terms of attack.

At half-time, the away side were yet to register a touch in Chelsea’s box, let alone fashion a chance to break the deadlock. But, 10 minutes after the break, they had their first effort – and first goal.

It came in a swift counter attack in which Jimenez and Jota found themselves breaking into the Chelsea half with little resistance but still required some luck as Cesar Azpilicueta’s tackle only helped divert the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

But take nothing away from Jimenez, who showed calmness under pressure from both Azpilicueta and Arrizabalaga, making the most of his first opportunity of the game.

The goal was Jimenez’s sixth in his past eight Premier League matches and saw the Mexican become the first player to score in two games against Chelsea this season.

Loser: Sarrismo

For 90 minutes Wolves’ brilliant defence had kept Chelsea at bay, sitting with a flat back five for most of the game, forcing their opponents into the crowded centre of the pitch.

This perfectly counter-acted Sarrismo with Eden Hazard drifting in far too much for his manager’s liking, losing out on the left-sided link up play with Mateo Kovacic – who also had a poor game.

Chelsea enjoyed the lion’s share of possession with 75% and had an average pass accuracy of 90%, but with Wolves restricting their space, the domination was for nought.

To make things slightly worse for Sarrismo – but a positive for Chelsea – the late equaliser came after Maurizio Sarri had made an obvious switch in formation in bringing Willian on.

At times the Blues looked to be playing a 4-2-4 with Hazard joining Higuain down the middle but the attacking quartet were frequently joined by Ruben Loftus-Cheek as the quest for an equaliser pushed on.

Chelsea may have rescued a point late on to keep hopes of a top four finish alive, but it was very much a defeat for Sarri and Sarri-ball.

Winner: Willy Boly

Though some may argue Wolves were undeserving of their point given the attack fashioned just one shot on goal. But their defence may have felt hard done by to leave Stamford Bridge without a clean sheet.

Going up against a talented attacking line, Wolves were set up to frustrate as they have done away at the Premier League Big Six clubs previously this season.

One man who took it upon himself more than the rest to keep Chelsea at bay was Willy Boly, who produced a titanic performance as part of the centre-back trio.

The Frenchman was quick to clear danger when Chelsea did breach the Wolves box, being responsible for 10 of his side’s ridiculous 47 clearances. He also won five tackles, the second-most on the pitch behind only team-mate Leander Dendoncker and won one aerial duel.

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Loser: Gonzalo Higuain

His signing in January was expected to bring positive changes to Sarri’s system, but Gonzalo Higuain has found himself following the same path of failing Chelsea strikers before him.

The Argentinian in undoubtedly a good forward and has the perfect instincts for Sarrismo, as he had shown during a spell under Sarri at Napoli. But, with the rest of Chelsea’s team still struggling to find the right way to play, Higuain is often left looking frustrated as yet another good run goes to waste.

But Higuain must take some of the blame too, still being far too static inside the Chelsea box and not quite up to the level of physicality needed. Then there was his horror miss when Chelsea needed it most, failing to get contact on the ball pretty much on the goalline when even the slightess of touches would have brought a goal.

Winner: Tottenham

When Tottenham lost to Southampton on Saturday, Spurs fans must have started worrying about their club’s place in the top four.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men sat three points clear of Manchester United in fourth and five of sixth-placed Chelsea, the latter of whom had two games in hand.

But with Chelsea dropping points on Sunday and United facing fellow top-four chasers Arsenal, Tottenham fans can rest slightly easier knowing their top four aims are still very much in their hands.

Loser: Jorginho

At the start of the season, things had looked so bright for Jorginho at Chelsea, with the Italian at the heart of the Blues’ winning style of play.

But the honeymoon is well and truly over with the Chelsea fans, who continue to voice their disproval of Jorginho with every passing week.

The metronome passer at the base of Chelsea’s midfield, Jorginho is often the closest man to the Blues defence and therefore expected to pick up some of the defensive work often left by N’Golo Kante playing slightly further forward.

However, at the same time, given his passing abilities, the Italian is also expected to contribute in attack creating chances for Chelsea’s highly-talented front line. But that is yet to come, and once again, Jorginho finds himself on the receiving end of some abuse from his own fans.

With Chelsea trailing, Jorginho was taken off for Willian after 72 minutes – a decision greeted with cheers from the home fans more for the player coming off than the one coming on.

The post Sarrismo countered perfectly: Key winners & losers as Chelsea miss out on top four spot appeared first on Squawka News.



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