Chelsea came out on top with a thumping 3-0 win over Malmo FF in the Europa League round of 32. the visitors started the match brightly but then fizzled out in the second half. The Blues were exceptional in the second half with Olivier Giroud breaking the deadlock from a great play started by Kante as the French forward scored from Willian’s pinpoint cross. Ross Barkley doubled the lead with a superb freekick goal followed by the promising Callum Hudson-Odoi who made it 3-0 on the night.
Stubborn Sarri drops Jorginho but still plays Kante out of his favoured position-
It has been a talking point since the last few matches as Jorginho has been pretty average in the heart of the Chelsea and Sarri has been very stubborn with his team selection. N’golo Kante who is naturally a defensive midfield and that’s where he prefers to play and won all these accolades playing there. But Sarri has shown his reluctance to not to use him in that role and prefers Jorginho who has not settled since his arrival from Napoli. Sarri has a soft corner for the Italian midfielder and Jorginho was very impressive under him in Naples.
With Jorginho on the bench probably rested for this match against Malmo it was Matteo Kovacic who was deployed in the holding midfield position with Kante again on the right side of the three-man midfield. It is unfortunate for the Frenchman as his boss does not seem to trust a man who has won the Premier League twice and also the World Cup with France playing as a defensive midfielder.
Although Kante left no stone unturned and gave his all like always but it is the attitude and belief from a manager that matters in the long run and it sums up the situation they are in right now.
Has Callum Hudson-Odoi done enough to be a regular at Chelsea under Sarri?
The 18-year old English sensation started the match after there were reports of him being angry on Sarri with false promises regarding his game time. Hudson-Odoi was promised more game time after he handed transfer request and wanted to join Bayern Munich as the German giants were offering better opportunities to nurture his talent.
With all that said Hudson-Odoi was a bit nervy at times in the match but on occasions, he proved why clubs like Paris Saint-German and Bayern Munich are after his signature. Terrific close control and tremendous acceleration lead to all sorts of trouble for the Malmo defenders. Although the youngster lacked decision making in the final third and held the ball for too long at times, which obviously should improve with more game time. But the 18-year old was a constant threat down the right side and the Blues could have scored a lot more on the night. Hudson-Odoi was impressive on the night as he also scored a terrific goal in the second half. With Sarri keeping a close watch on him and his idea of imposing that he isn’t ready enough to play in crunch league matches for the club can haunt the youngster yet again in future as now he has proven what he can do.
Squandering early chances coming back to haunt Malmo FF?
The visitors had the better start and also had their chances to take the lead but they succumbed under pressure and it was Chelsea who emerged victorious with a much improved second-half performance. Uwe Rosler’s men unexpectedly started the match very brightly and the first clear cut opportunity fell to their path when veteran striker Markus Rosenberg came up with a brilliant slick turn to dodge Antonio Rudiger out of the way and with Willy Caballero to beat the 35-year old failed to keep his composure and scruffed it wide off goal. It was a golden opportunity for the Swedish side to take the lead and impose terms on the match from there on but Chelsea came with a strong reply in the second half blowing them out of the park completely.
