One of Chelsea’s best ever managers, Jose Mourinho, has had his say on the current situation unfolding at his former club, where the players look to have more power than the manager. This reached boiling point on Sunday night as with Willy Caballero stripped and ready to come, Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to leave the pitch and be substituted.
This left Maurizio Sarri incandescent with rage on the Chelsea bench and he almost stormed down the tunnel at one point during the bizarre incident. Kepa stayed on and Man City won on penalties, but the Jose Mourinho perhaps unsurprisingly, backed the keeper’s confidence despite the huge criticism he has received.
He told DAZN:
“The goalkeeper wants to show his personality, his confidence, wants to show that he is there and wants to be at the shootout and make saves — and I like that.”
Having said that, Mourinho did show some sense and did not like the situation that Kepa left manager Maurizio Sarri in.
“I don’t like that he leaves his coach and the assistant coach [Gianfranco Zola] in a situation of great fragility. It saddens me for them,
“Luckily I never had to go through this.”
That last comment seems to be a bit strange given Mourinho’s problems with players such as Paul Pogba during his time at Manchester United. Those fractions between himself and the players eventually led to his sacking at the club, as he could not get the players onside. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has shown the difference having positivity and a bond with your players can have during his short spell in charge.
