Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has informed the public that they can expect more from the Blues following their opening Premier League victory against Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
The Blues sailed to a comfortable victory against the Terriers through goals from N’Golo Kante, new boy Jorginho and veteran Pedro. The win will give Chelsea a much-needed confidence boost following their recent troubles as well as their 2-0 Community Shield defeat to Manchester City last weekend.
Huddersfield did look promising during the early stages of the game but they ultimately did not trouble new Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa for the majority of the game; in the end, Sarri’s men fully deserved the three points. The Italian has only been in charge of the Blues for about a month but he has probably had to undergo a lot of stress due to issues affecting the club.
The Blues lost their former first-choice keeper Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid last week in a deal that saw Mateo Kovacic arriving at Stamford Bridge on a season-long loan deal. Courtois is one of the best keepers in the world so it would definitely have been a big blow to lose him. While Kepa does have the potential to go on and become a great keeper, he is still very young and had no prior experience in England, hence signing him was always going to be a risk.
If Kepa adapts to the Premier League, he could go on and become one of the best keepers in the world. If he does not, it could result in problems for the Blues and potentially cause Sarri to be scrutinised in the future.
The club also failed to secure a high-profile striker during the summer transfer window. Alvaro Morata failed to live up to expectations last season while Olivier Giroud is not a striker that can be expected to score an abundance of goals. The absence of a lethal finisher is another reason why many feel that the Blues do not have what it takes to launch challenges for the major trophies on offer this term. It will be up to Morata to try and prove to the world that he is a quality striker.
While the victory over the Terriers can be viewed as a confidence boost, bigger and more challenging games lay ahead for Sarri and his troops. They next face a challenging game against Unai Emery’s Arsenal next weekend before taking on Newcastle the following week.
Following the victory over Huddersfield, Sarri said, as reported by Sky Sports: “I’m very happy for the three points. For us, in this first part of the championship, it’s not very easy to gain points. I think in this moment we are not at the top of our potential.
“The first half was hard. If you look at the result, you can think about an easy game, but in the first half, we were in trouble for 15 minutes against a very physical team. We are not a physical team and I think the best of the game is the capacity of suffering for 15 minutes. Then I think in the second half the opponents were a bit tired and it was easier.”
