Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has defended midfielder Jorginho and claimed that the Italian needs more players to support him.
Both Jorginho and manager Sarri came under scathing criticism following the Blues’ humiliating 4-0 defeat against Bournemouth last week. The 27-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge during the summer from Napoli. He was viewed as an essential part of the Sarri-ball type of play the Italian implemented at the Serie A giants.
Jorginho’s signing resulted in Sarri making a very questionable decision as he opted to deploy N’Golo Kante in a more attacking midfield role while the former has since taken over the defensive midfield role which was previously occupied by the Frenchman.
This decision has resulted in Sarri coming under fierce criticism whenever the West London club lose. Kante is viewed as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and helped Leicester City and Chelsea win top-flight titles while playing in the position. He also played in the position brilliantly during the 2018 World Cup which France won.
Should the Blues fail to secure a top-four finish this term, it is likely that the decision to play Kante out of position will come under strong criticism. Jorginho has also been struggling for consistency recently so he is likely to be one of the players who will face the wrath of supporters and pundits, should the scenario occur.
Following Chelsea’s 5-0 demolition of Huddersfield Town this weekend, Sarri praised the performance of Jorginho and suggested that he needs more support from his team-mates.
The 59-year-old tactician said, as quoted by The Daily Mail: “Jorginho played very well.
“Jorginho needs movement without the ball from the other players because he is used to play one touch and it’s very difficult to play one touch without the movement of the other players.
“So the team in the first 25-30 minutes played very well, we have movements without the ball and for Jorginho it’s easier I think.
“We played our football because we moved the ball fast, very well. We didn’t play our backs to the opposing goal like in the last match but we attacked the spaces, so we played our football.”
