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Maurizio Sarri was rightly pleased with his Chelsea team’s performance in the 5-0 thrashing of Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon, especially the first half an hour or so, as Chelsea finally back on track in the Premier League with the first (and first goals) in three games.
Sarri: “I think we started very well. In the first 25, 30 mins I saw my football. We moved the ball very fast with good movements off the ball. I’m happy because we played for 90 mins & defended for 90 mins, but we need consistency now” #cfc
— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) February 2, 2019
Consistency remains an issue of course, not only from game to game but from minute to minute. Chelsea played the sort of football Sarri wants to see for the first 30 minutes, but then hit a bit of a lull before pouring it on in the last quarter of the match.
Sarri on Chelsea’s potential: “I think we have good potential. We need to arrive to play 70, 75 mins like the first 25 in this match. We need to play the same football with continuity” #cfc
— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) February 2, 2019
Until football matches aren’t 90 minutes long, 30 minutes of effort won’t get too many wins consistently, especially when facing better opposition than the Terriers, which will be the case for the rest of the season but especially the month of February.
Sarri on Man City, Man United, Tottenham in February: "It will be very difficult, also for our oponents I think. Of course, at the moment, we have to be happy for our season. We are in February and we are involved in four competitions. We have to fight for top 4" #CFC #CHEHUD
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) February 2, 2019
Chelsea are back in fourth thanks to the goal differential-boosting five goals today (Arsenal play at Manchester City on Sunday), but there are still 13 games left in the league. Chelsea will need to stay motivated not just in the cups — and not just after losses — if we are to finish in the top four.
Sarri on motivation: "In the future we shouldn't lose a game for lack of motivation. We have to improve the consitency of the mentality. Today they were really motivated because we lost 4-0 in the last game. We had to react. It must be the same in every match" #CFC #CHEHUD
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) February 2, 2019
Chelsea now have a rare midweek off to fully rest, recover, and get ready for a visit to Manchester City next Sunday. It will be the first of two games against City this month, the other being the League Cup final, and it’s going to be far from easy. But with the right motivation and the right mentality, we could pull off something great and turn the season around for good.
Sarri on keeping it going: "In the Cup we played Liverpool, Spurs & City. It is like the Champions League, I think. Here in England, everything is very difficult. The league is competitive. We need consistency in the performances, results will be difficult but in perfromances"
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) February 2, 2019