Chelsea could have been three or four goals up at half-time

Sarri was right in saying Chelsea could have been three or four goals up at half-time, and understandably bemused by the sudden switch as Everton took a grip on the second half after being outplayed in the first.

“We were good up to the last minute of the first half and bad from the first minute of the second,” the Chelsea manager said. “We were in control of the game, all we had to do was continue, and we could not do that.

Sarri, whose side failed to threaten a comeback after going behind, added: ‘It is a big limit for is because we lost a similar match in Wolverhampton. This was really, really important for us. Now we have one less opportunity but I think we have to fight to defend those opportunities.’

If Sarri felt embattled, Marco Silva was breathing easier after the best day of his Everton career. The last time the club had celebrated such a success was when they skewered Manchester City 4-0 in January 2017. It was the perfect response to a desperate result at Newcastle last weekend.

Everton 2-0 Chelsea FT:

Shots: 15-16
Pass accuracy: 73%-84%
Chances created: 9-14
Possession: 33%-67%

Goals from Richarlison and Sigurdsson give Everton the three points against Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/0QUYUo5ta6— Squawka Football (@Squawka) March 17, 2019

Maurizio Sarri has admitted it will be ‘impossible’ for Chelsea to qualify for the Champions League if their shocking second half at Everton is consistently repeated.

The Chelsea head coach was left perplexed at the manner in which his team surrendered a position of strength at Goodison Park and disintegrated in the second 45 minutes, enabling the hosts to beat top six opposition for the first time in 26 attempts.

Another chance goes begging…

Pedro is presented with it inside the box after nice Blues football down the left, but his first time effort is sliced wide.

0-0 [32′] #EVECHE pic.twitter.com/Uh5zUmuQT9— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 17, 2019

There was no sign of such an outcome during the first half, as Chelsea controlled the tempo, but the way in which they folded after Richarlison had opened the scoring left Sarri to openly question the mentality of his squad, who fluffed the opportunity to put pressure on their top-four rivals.

Chelsea manager Sarri is understood to be under pressure in west London after a disappointing first season in charge.

The Blues are struggling to land a top-four finish in the Premier League and look set to go without a trophy this season – unless they win the Europa League.

Former Napoli boss Sarri was only appointed back in the summer, when Chelsea paid £4.4m to acquire him.

They also sacked Antonio Conte at an estimated cost of £9m.

Chelsea are playing Sarri ball, while Everton are scoring Sarri goals 😂😂😂#EVECHE pic.twitter.com/DCXbIi43ix— Kabir Murtala (@Elkabs17) March 17, 2019

But trigger-happy Roman Abramovich might now use the international break as space to sack Sarri and bring in a new manager.

And it could well be a smart move for the Blues were they to ditch Sarri now.

Chelsea’s side has appeared in disarray for much of the season under the Italian manager – and they lost 2-0 at Everton today to pile more pressure on the boss.

After the match Sarri was asked what happened in the second half.

“I don’t know and the players don’t know what happened in the second half,” he said.

“I cannot explain it. We played the best first half in the season and we could have scored four or five and then suddenly we stopped playing.

“It’s very strange and we stopped to defend and counter attack.

“We were in control of the match and we played very well so we needed continue but we didn’t defend at the start of the second half. We changed the system but it was the same.

“The problem was mental on the pitch, so the system and the tactics are not important.

“It wasn’t about motivation because we started very well. We have to play eight matches now and we have to fight for our possibilities.”

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