MX23RW : Wednesday, March 6 22:20:54
Mar 3, 2019 at 2.05pm UK at ​Craven Cottage
Attendance: 24,900
Fulham
1-2
Chelsea
Chambers (27')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Higuain (20'), Jorginho (31')

Sarri backs Jorginho to win over detractors at Chelsea

Sarri backs Jorginho to win over detractors at Chelsea
© Reuters
The playmaker has been booed by some of the club's fans.

Jorginho has been backed to overcome his detractors at Chelsea by Blues boss Maurizio Sarri.

The Italy playmaker followed Sarri from Napoli to Stamford Bridge last summer in a £57million move. He is a key component of the possession-based 'Sarri-ball' philosophy which has been turgid at times this season.

Jorginho was booed by Chelsea fans when going on as a substitute in the recent win over Malmo and missed a penalty in the Carabao Cup final shootout loss to Manchester City.

But Sarri expects the 27-year-old to improve as the team learn "our way of football".

Jorginho
Jorginho was booed when he replaced Ross Barkley in the Europa League win over Malmo (Adam Davy/PA)

"Jorginho has a very strong character, a very strong personality," the 60-year-old Blues head coach said.

"So I can believe that he has no problem to play under pressure. I think that he played very well in the last match (against Tottenham), better in the second half than in the first half.

"For him, it's very important to finish the match in that way.

"I think that he can do better. But he needs all the team to understand very well our way of football."

Maurizio Sarri
Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri appears to have survived a difficult period with his position intact (Adam Davy/PA)

It is Sarri who has been under examination of late, with heavy defeats at Bournemouth and Manchester City and the negative reaction of fans to the FA Cup exit to Manchester United rendering his position precarious.

That was before the Kepa Arrizabalaga substitution furore when the world's most expensive goalkeeper refused to go off at Wembley with penalties looming.

City won the shootout 4-3 and debate raged at whether Sarri's position had been undermined.

The situation appears to have galvanised Chelsea, while it was Sunday's opponents who made a managerial change.

Claudio Ranieri was sacked and former Blues midfielder Scott Parker will take charge of the home side at Craven Cottage.

Sarri says the only pressure which bothers him is internal and he had the same drive when he was working as a banker while managing amateur football teams in Italy.

"My pressure was the same," Sarri added.

"The pressure is inside. I felt big pressure in Serie C, and very little sometimes in the Champions League. It's really very important your feeling at the moment."

Sarri repeated his oft-uttered view that the pressure was greater at Napoli, where the supporters are renowned for their passion than in his present position at Chelsea.

"Napoli is not a small club. And the pressure is a lot higher there than here," he said.

Sarri hopes the Blues' midweek defeat of Tottenham can see Spurs slip back to make it a four-way battle for two Champions League qualifying spots, with Arsenal and Manchester United also in contention.

Chelsea are trailing the trio, albeit with a game in hand, and Sarri knows the Blues cannot afford to take any opponent lightly.

He added: "Every match is very difficult and mentally very expensive. You risk arriving at this moment of the season really very tired, more mentally than physically. In England, the season is really very difficult.

"The target of my club is to return in the Champions League. I would be really very happy."


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Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri tries to bring on Willy Caballero during the EFL Cup final against Manchester City on February 24, 2019
Read Next:
Chelsea "more united" following Kepa commotion - Sarri
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City29232476205671
2Liverpool29217164154970
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs29201856302661
4Manchester UnitedMan Utd29177558382058
5Arsenal29176661392257
6Chelsea28175649301956
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves29127103735243
8Watford29127104141043
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham29116123741-439
10Everton29107123939037
11Leicester CityLeicester29105143541-635
12Bournemouth29104153954-1534
13Crystal Palace2996143539-433
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2987142636-1031
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2886143041-1130
16Burnley2986153253-2130
17Southampton2969143249-1727
18Cardiff CityCardiff2974182557-3225
19Fulham2945202765-3817
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2935211551-3614

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