Chelsea were beaten by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup Final and the Champions of England were able to retain this trophy for another season. It was a great game of football with both the teams have their positives and negatives. No one would have thought that Chelsea can take this to the extra time. However, Chelsea were right there in the match till the end of 120 minutes. Here we will discuss about the positives and negatives of Chelsea in this match against Manchester City.
Positive Aspects :
1. Sarri’s Tactical Switch :
Maurizio Sarri finally understood that he had to change his strategy against Manchester City to win this contest. In the previous match against City, Chelsea were outclassed completely with a margin of 6 goals; but this time the scenario was completely different. Chelsea kept their defense solid and took the counter attacking approach which seemed to be the best way against the team like Manchester City.
2. Solid Defensive Performance :
Maurizio Sarri dropped Marcos Alonso from the starting lineup in this match against Manchester City. Emerson Palmieri did his best and after this performance he will be the first choice left back of the Blues for the rest of the season. David Luiz also looked sound defensively and the intent was right there within all the players to win this contest for Chelsea.
Negative Aspects :
1. Lack Of Finishing :
In these sorts of matches when you are taking the counter attacking approach against a top quality side, you have to take the opportunities that will come in your way. That’s where Chelsea lost the match. N’Golo Kante and Pedro got the chance to win the match for Chelsea; but they were not able to capitalize on these opportunities.
Chelsea were playing with a false nine in this match. After loaning Gonzalo Higuain in the winter transfer window, many thought that Chelsea’s striker crisis would be over now. However, things did not go in that way for the Blues. Gonzalo Higuain has been able to score against Huddersfield Town only in this meantime. His slow pace was not effective in this match also when he came off from the bench at the extra time. Eden Hazard tried his best; but he was alone most of the times. He was not getting enough support from his teammates in the attacking third.
2. Kepa-Sarri Misunderstanding :
There was a big misunderstanding between the player and the manager. Maurizio Sarri wanted to take off Kepa Arrizabalaga. However, Kepa did not wish to go to the bench at that point of time. Maurizio Sarri got frustrated and went towards the tunnel. It was a sad incident in the football ground. A player has to folllow the decision of his manager in the field. In the post match conference, the manager of the Blues, Maurizio Sarri clarified that it was misunderstanding. Kepa Arrizabalaga thought that he would be taken off due to hamstring injury. However, it has been a tactical change as Willy Caballero is a specialist in penalty shoot outs.
