Chelsea legend Claude Makelele has backed Maurizio Sarri to accomplish greatness at Stamford Bridge.
Sarri, who joined the Blues in less-than-optimal conditions this summer with the club tied up in a contract wrangle over Antonio Conte’s departure, arrived just a month before the beginning of the new Premier League season. The 59-year-old lamented his lack of time on the training ground to instill his preferred playing system into his players yet he has put that difficult situation to one side to mastermind a perfect start for the Blues in the league.
The West London side have emerged triumphant against Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Newcastle United and Bournemouth, seeing them as one of only three Premier League sides to have collected maximum points through four matches.
Makelele, who won two Premier League titles with the Blues, believes it will be a tough ask for Sarri’s side to emerge as champions this season, citing the current crop of players for the top-flight sides, especially the two Manchester clubs, are of good quality, but he has backed the former Napoli manager to achieve glory with the West London side.
“I think Chelsea changed a lot,” said the former Chelsea midfielder. “Before now you have a lot of teams in the Premier League, it’s competitive. “Manchester City, Manchester United, and also the smaller teams have good players. So it’s going to be difficult for them to win the Premier League. I’m confident.
“He [Sarri] still has good players, [Eden] Hazard is there, [N’Golo] Kante is there. These kinds of players give a different story about Chelsea than the way we knew Chelsea before. I think he has the capacity to make history for Chelsea again.”
The 59-year-old Sarri will have a chance to extend the Blues’ immaculate streak when they entertain newly-promoted Cardiff on Saturday as club football resumes following the international break.
