Eden Hazard insists that the Chelsea players are all behind under-fire manager Maurizio Sarri, three days on from his dramatic stand-off with Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Carabao Cup final.
The Blues were beaten on penalties by Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday, having held their rivals to a goalless draw after normal and extra time.
Despite a resilient performance with plenty of positives for Sarri to draw on, Kepa’s refusal to leave the pitch as a substitute for Willy Caballero overshadowed the team’s exploits.
The Blues boss reacted furiously after the Spaniard’s defiance and almost stormed down the tunnel before reluctantly allowing him to continue between the sticks.
Kepa has since been hit with a hefty fine and there are reports he will lose his spot in the starting line-up for the visit of Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening.
Chelsea’s final defeat marked their fourth reverse in five domestic games, with pressure mounting on Sarri as his tactics continue to be called into question by fans and pundits.
Hazard, who produced a star turn as a false nine against City and has been a talismanic figure for Chelsea throughout the 2018-19 campaign, says that the squad are still united under Sarri despite their poor run of results.
“We are all together,” Hazard told Chelsea’s official website. “We are all with the manager. I know this month was a bit hard but we need to be together, stay together, if we want to do something at the end of the season.
“At the moment we have a bit of pressure because the fans want us to be in the top four, but we’re Chelsea and we can deal with the pressure. We will win games and that’s it.
“We are there. This is a hard game but we can close the gap a bit on Tottenham. We have the potential to be in the top four but we don’t have to think about that. We just have to think game after game and try to win one more game.
“We are playing for him [Sarri], the club, the fans and us. It’s not just about the manager. He puts the players on the pitch and then it’s down to the players to take responsibility. On Sunday we played a fantastic game, we need to look at that and try to repeat it. Then the manager will be happy.”