Sarri on Hazard’s fitness, the captaincy, Barkley’s importance and the futures of Chelsea duo
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri spoke about a number of issues at a media conference ahead of the game against Crystal Palace. Here’s some of what the Italian had to say.
On whether Eden Hazard will return
“I don’t know. Yesterday he had a large part in training and maybe he will not be ready to play 90 minutes at the moment because that was his first training in the last two weeks.
“Probably he will be able to play 40 or 45 minutes and for us that is important. But I want to speak to him first.”
On how N’Golo Kante has reacted to the tragedy at his former club Leicester
“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken with him about what happened. But I think for him it’s not a very easy moment of course.
“I am not worried because he is able to play in the same way whatever the mental condition.”
On potentially setting a Premier League record for the longest unbeaten start as manager
“I don’t want to think about the record, because we have to think only about the match.
“We have to think about how to gain points. The record is only a consequence.
“I think now I have to send to my players the message that only the match is important. The rest is a consequence.”
On whether he expected such a great start
“No, because in every experience I had before I was in trouble in the first two months! So I thought it would be the same here.
“I think here I was lucky because the players were able to win without a very good level of tactical organisation.”
On whether they have now got that tactical organisation
“No. As you saw in the last match, against Derby – I have to say Derby played a really good match – we played I think well in the offensive phase and made a lot of mistakes in the defensive phase.
“So it’s clear that we need to improve, especially in the defensive phase. But I am used in the first months to having problems like this.
“At Burnley I saw a very good performance in the defensive phase and three days after I saw a lot of mistakes. It means we are not a solid team at the moment with continuity and it’s dangerous.”
On the captaincy
“As we have seen in the last matches, the captain is Cahill. If Cahill isn’t on the pitch the captain is Azpilicueta. Our captain is Cahill.
“Cahill was the captain last season and I have spoken with his (team) mates and everybody told me he was really a very good captain.”
On whether Cahill will stay
“I don’t know. It depends on him. He played very often in the last seven or eight matches. So I don’t know. It depends on him and it depends on the club.
“For me Cahill is very important on the pitch but also off the pitch.”
On Ross Barkley
“He has a great quality – technical quality. He has great quality from the physical point of view.
“He is improving now after the injury of last season and he improved from a tactical point of view.
“So he is becoming a very important player for us – not only for us but for English football.”
On Ruben Loftus-Cheek
“He improved but I think he needs to improve more from a tactical point of view.
“All the rest is good, because physically he has great characteristics. He is fast, solid, he has impact and technically he is very good.
“I think that if he wants to play like a midfielder he has to improve in the defensive phase. But the potential is great.”
On whether Loftus-Cheek might leave on loan
“Ruben in October played four matches out of five, so I think at the moment the situation is not for a loan.”
