Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea job remains on the line, despite goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga publically apologising for his Wembley revolt and being fined a one week’s wages.
Even though Chelsea lost the Carabao Cup finalpenaltyshoot out to Manchester and Kepa refused to be substituted City, the club’s board saw enough improvement in the team’s performance to allow Sarri to prepare for the Premier League visit of Tottenham Hotspur.
But a defeat or any more acts of mutiny, either from his players or the fans on Wednesday night, could seal Sarri’s fate with England assistant-manager Steve Holland still the top choice to take over on a caretaker basis until the end of the season.
Sarri held a team meeting on Monday, during which Kepa apologised to the rest of the squad, and has received a personal apology from the Spaniard since his act of Wembley defiance.
In a statement, Kepa said: “Although there was a misunderstanding, on reflection, I made a big mistake with how I handled the situation. I wanted to take the time today to apologise fully and in person to the coach, to Willy (Caballero), my team-mates and to the club. I have done this and now I want to offer the same apology to the fans. I will learn from this episode and will accept any punishment or discipline the club decides is appropriate.”
Sarri added: “Kepa and I have spoken about the incident. It was a good conversation. There was a misunderstanding, but he realises he made a big mistake in the way he reacted. He has apologised to me, his team-mates and the club. It is up to the club if they want to discipline him according to the club rules, but for me this matter is now closed.”
Chelsea confirmed Kepa has been fined one week’s wages, worth around £190,000, which will be donated to the Chelsea Foundation. Kepa’s fall-out with Sarri is believed to have initially split opinion among the club’s players, but Chelsea will hope his apology has eased tensions ahead of the Tottenham game.
Willy Caballero, who was stripped off ready to replace Kepa for the penalty shootout, was understood to be upset that his team-mate’s act of defiance robbed him of the chance to go up against his old club.
But captain Cesar Azpilicueta, whose leadership has come under scrutiny as a result of the incident, made his feelings clear by arguing with Sarri at the end of extra-time and then congratulating Kepa for his shootout save from Leroy Sane.
The club’s Spanish contingent of Kepa, Azpilicueta, Pedro and Marcos Alonso, who was dropped for the final, are a close group who stick tightly together and it appeared Azpilicueta was backing his close friend and compatriot.
Azpilicueta is also the man who stood up to Sarri after the 60-year-old had blamed his players for the manner of the defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates. David Luiz, who has publicly supported his head coach on numerous occasions over recent weeks, on-loan Gonzalo Higuain, who is friendly with compatriot Caballero, and Jorginho are all big supporters of Sarri.
Eden Hazard was dismayed with the way extra-time finished in what he believes may have been his final Wembley appearance for Chelsea ahead of a summer move to Real Madrid.
A source told Telegraph Sport: “Some players thought Kepa was wrong, some thought Sarri over-reacted and others were just annoyed with the entire situation.
“Now it’s a question of whether there is any lasting anger or whether everybody can calm down in time for the Tottenham game.“The squad needs to come together because there have been too many players protecting themselves when things have gone wrong this season.”
Holland last week emerged as Chelsea’s preferred choice to take over from Sarri until the end of the season if the Italian is sacked and the Football Association can be persuaded to allow him to combine the Blues job with his work as Gareth Southgate’s assistant.
Despite his popularity and legendary status at the club, there are doubts over Gianfranco Zola’s suitability for a caretaker position and they were exacerbated by Sunday’s events.
Zola could not convince Kepa to leave the pitch and, like Sarri, saw his instructions ignored. He and the rest of the backroom staff also did nothing to try to calm down the 60-year-old when his anger boiled over.
Former Chelsea captain John Terry has become more visible around the club over the past fortnight. He was at Wembley working as a pundit for Sky Sports and admitted Sarri was “in a tough place” following the Kepa incident.
Despite holding a job at Aston Villa, Terry would jump at the chance to return to Chelsea as part of any coaching change but it is unclear whether or not the club would be prepared to offer him a role.
Terry was interviewed by Chelsea’s website in the aftermath of the Kepa controversy and he gave his views on how Sarri, or anybody else, should approach the final months of the season.
“We’ve got people like Hudson-Odoi and it’s important to keep him,” said Terry. “Ruben Loftus-Cheek, is he ready. Let’s find out. If we’re not going to win the League, then let’s give him a chance in the League. Let’s blood the younger players and see what they’ve got.”
Despite being one of the older members of the squad, however, Luiz has insisted he is far from finished and suggested he thinks he is worthy of more than a one-year extension.Chelsea have a policy of only offering their over-30s and extra 12 months, but 31-year-old Luiz said: “I think it’s one of the best seasons I’ve had individually.
“But, for me, this doesn’t count because I want my team to win and it’s better that my team wins 5-4 and it’s better that everyone talks bad about me, but my team is winning than I’m doing great job and we’re still not winning.
“Personally, especially after last season which was so difficult for me because for six months I was not playing football, playing every match now and playing very well makes me very happy.”
Asked if he is proving he is not finished, Luiz added: “Who thinks this? If you look at my numbers this season, it’s another thing to show them, especially the physical numbers this season. This season my numbers are amazing, especially physically.
“They are better than when I was 28. My speed the other day was 34km/h. My best in life was 35/36, so now it is good. Mbappe is 38, but I cannot fly! I think it’s over 50m.”