Premier League 2018/19 review: Sarri admirably salvages Chelsea’s season

There was a point in the season when it looked almost certain that Maurizio Sarri would not even see out his first season at the club.  When Kepa refused to be taken off in Chelsea’s League Cup final defeat to Manchester City in February, it seemed Sarri had gone past the point of no return with his players.

Chelsea had dropped below Manchester United into sixth that weekend, albeit with a game in hand, and were 10 points behind Tottenham. Helped by the fact United, Tottenham and Arsenal suffered end-of-season collapses; Chelsea not only clawed back that gap but finished third.

Sarri’s stubbornness and unwillingness to change threatened to derail his tenure at Stamford Bridge before it even started. Chelsea fans were rankled that neither Ruben Loftus-Cheek nor Callum Hudson-Odoi were given their fair crack of the whip but that did change during the second half of the campaign.

Chelsea will also have the chance to finish the campaign with silverware when they take on London rivals Arsenal in the Europa League final. Given the mess Chelsea have been on the pitch at times, and certainly off it, Sarri has done well to secure a top four finish and guide the club into two cup finals in his first season.

Top rated player – Eden Hazard (7.81)

Chelsea supporters were expecting more from Maurizio Sarri’s first season in charge but the Italian has at least brought the best out of star man Eden Hazard, who is now expected to join Real Madrid this summer.

Hazard played a direct hand in more goals than any other player in the Premier League (31) and finished the campaign as the highest WhoScored rated player in the division (7.81). 

The Belgium international was the first player to reach double figures for goals and assists in the Premier League and finished with 16 and 15, respectively. Not only that, but Hazard won the WhoScored Man of the Match award at least six more times than anyone else (14).

Furthermore, Hazard completed at least 23 more dribbles than any other player (137) in the Premier League and ranked second for key passes, falling just two short of setting up 100 goalscoring chances.

Biggest Disappointment – Jorginho

Chelsea completed a double raid of Napoli last summer, bringing over Jorginho with manager Maurizio Sarri. The west London outfit beat rivals Manchester City to Jorginho’s signature, agreeing a £57m deal for the Italy international.

Having developed into one of the finest midfielders in Italy under Sarri, it was thought Jorginho would help accelerate the implementation of Sarriball at Stamford Bridge. Both have, however, endured testing maiden campaigns in England.

Jorginho’s arrival even pushed N’Golo Kante out of his best position and into an unfamiliar box-to-box role, which still divides opinions among supporters. Despite making more passes than any other player in the Premier League this season, Jorginho astonishingly didn’t register one assist.

There were at least signs in Chelsea’s last few matches of the season that Jorginho was starting to come good and supporters will hope he just needed a year to bed in properly.

Surprise Package – Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Ruben Loftus-Cheek isn’t an unknown talent but he is finally starting to look like a Chelsea player after years of having to watch from the bench. It took Maurizio Sarri a while to completely trust the 23-year-old but he finished the campaign as a first-choice midfielder alongside Jorginho and N’Golo Kante.

When factoring in starts alone, only Eden Hazard (7.91) has a higher WhoScored rating than Loftus-Cheek (7.38) for Chelsea in the Premier League this season and both built a solid understanding during their time on the pitch together.

Loftus-Cheek scored four Premier League goals this season and all of them were assisted by Hazard  - there were only four better assist to goalscorer combinations in the division. The England international has successfully used the Europa League as a platform to impress Sarri and now there is talk of a new long-term deal in the pipeline.

Where to Improve – Sarri’s willingness to change

It took a long time, and by that point it was almost too late, but Maurizio Sarri managed to salvage Chelsea’s season after he started to realise the error of his ways.

During Chelsea’s worst periods this season, supporters were disgruntled by Sarri’s predictability, particularly with his starting XIs and substitutions. It didn’t take a genius to know Sarri would make two substitutions midway through the second half and they would almost always be Ross Barkley on for Mateo Kovacic or Willian on for Pedro, or vice versa.

Neither Ruben Loftus-Cheek nor Callum Hudson-Odoi could get near the team and his man-management of the latter was only working against the club’s desire to secure his long-term future. To Sarri’s credit, that changed in the second half of the season and there were first-team chances for both.

It may be to late in the day to convince Hudson-Odoi to stay but Sarri certainly has a better chance of being a success at Stamford Bridge if he continues to roll with the punches rather than battle against them. Next season will be another huge test for Chelsea if they do not lift a FIFA-imposed transfer ban and Sarri will need to utilise his full squad rather than alienate it.

League Position: 3rd

Grade: C