Reason To Keep The Faith? Maurizio Sarri’s Surprising Chelsea Record Compared To Pep Guardiola At Man City

Reason To Keep The Faith? Maurizio Sarri’s Surprising Chelsea Record Compared To Pep Guardiola At Man City
14:28, 23 Feb 2019

Amid all the chatter surrounding his future at Chelsea, Maurizio Sarri can actually achieve a managerial first on Sunday.

The Italian, who is the scorching hot favourite for the sack, has the chance to add the first trophy to his CV when Chelsea do battle with Man City at Wembley tomorrow.

The former banker has spent a large proportion of his career in the lower leagues of Italian football, before getting his big break at Napoli in 2015 following a successful spell at Empoli. The chain-smoking gaffer was unable to lead The Blues to silverware but his troops did come agonisingly close to winning Serie A on a couple of occasions, while ‘Sarri-ball’ was simply a delight to watch.

A certain Pep Guardiola is a huge fan, and even had this to say after City’s Champions League clash with Napoli last season:

“We faced one of the best sides I faced in my career - probably the best,” said Guardiola at the time.

“It is one of the wins I am most proud in my career. Today we won against an incredible team. To do that you have to do an incredible performance.

“That team takes out energy because they have the quality to take the ball as much as possible.”

High praise.

It’s fair to say that, to date, the ‘Sarri-ball’ philosophy has yet to sparkle in the Premier League. In fact, it’s been absolutely slaughtered of late following Chelsea’s shambolic defeats to Bournemouth, then City, condeding 10 goals in the process. However, that’s not to see that Sarri’s style won’t eventually thrive, providing Chelsea keep the faith in their beleaguered boss.

Both Chelsea and City supporters may actually be surprised to hear that Sarri has amassed more wins in charge of the Blues, than Guardiola did at Man City after 43 games.

To date Sarri has overseen 28 wins, six draws, and nine defeats in all competitions since arriving at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, Pep won 27, drew nine, and lost seven of his opening 43 matches at Man City.

Guardiola ended his debut campaign in England empty handed, but then oversaw a rip-roaring double winning 2017/18 campaign, during which City stormed to the title with 100 points, plus League Cup glory.

We’re not saying that Sarri will go on to replicate Guardiola, but the interesting statistic highlights that keeping the faith can sometimes prove fruitful in the long-term.

Sarri at Chelsea compared with Guardiola at City after 43 games
Sarri at Chelsea compared with Guardiola at City after 43 games
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