David Luiz shows his support for Sarri-ball and Philosophy confirming players weight behind him

Chelsea Manager, Maurizio Sarri has been on the spotlight in the past, recent one being the incident that involved him and goal keeper Kepa Arizabagala when he refused to be substituted in the carabao finals.

His club’s performance has deteriorated as they try to seek a place for the UEFA cup but his center back defender has come to his defense saying he is respected by the players.

Chelsea defender David Luiz says boss Maurizio Sarri is a “great human” and that every Blues player is 100% buying into the Italian’s philosophy.

Chelsea sit sixth in the Premier League, two points off a Champions League spot, with 10 games to play.Sarri has had a mixed start to his tenure, but Luiz says they have “turned a negative moment” into a positive one.

“You don’t change your character because of the situation, you change the situation,” Luiz told BBC Sport.

A dip in form earlier this year coincided with Chelsea exiting the FA Cup in the fifth round and losing in the Carabao Cup final on penalties to Manchester City, a side they also lost 6-0 in the league.

That final was also marred by a “misunderstanding” between Sarri and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who refused to be substituted. Luiz, who was the only player to approach Kepa during the stand-off, says all the players are fully behind their manager.

“He’s a great human, someone with the love and passion with football, loving with people and trying to help everyone, giving the best advice,” said the Brazilian, 31.

“When you lose a game, like we did in Manchester, no-one is going to be happy and coming here joking around. He’s a real person, and real people have feelings good and bad.”

Former Napoli boss Sarri likes his teams to adopt a distinctive style of play, often labelled ‘Sarri-ball’, that Luiz says encourages players to “play from the back with possession”.

“To play you have to be intelligent,” he added. “We lived a few weeks of difficult moments and the players adapted very well. The manager adapted very well, the club adapted very well.

“It was the decision of the club to change the style of football. For many years people said Chelsea were winning but never controlled the game. Now we control the game and people say we don’t win.

“It’s about what we really believe. Every player believes in his philosophy and everyone is giving 100%.”

Chelsea have won both their Premier League fixtures since the League Cup final defeat by City, including against third-placed Tottenham, with Luiz saying only subtle tweaks have been made to the ‘Sarri-ball’ method.

“I don’t think the style has changed,” he said. “We just adapted some moments in the game, like the line to have high press or not.

“Sometimes you stabilise the team and just defend for a few minutes to get back the oxygen and try and play our game. But our philosophy is the same. We are still playing the same style.”

Chelsea,Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs are fighting for the fourth position for a chance to play in the UEFA Champions League.

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