After the incredible events of the weekend, Maurizio Sarri’s “authority” has been the subject of major questions.
He restored a little of it when he dropped Kepa after his insubordination, but his latest quotes don’t exactly ram home the image that the former Napoli boss is large and in charge.
West London Sport have quotes from the coach where he admits that the half-time changes he made against Tottenham were induced by his players’ demands.
“At the beginning of the match we pressed very high. Then it was really very difficult because we played 120 minutes three days ago… So the players asked me to press a little bit lower and of course I agreed.”
It wouldn’t really be fair to criticise a manager for taking onboard his player’s thoughts, especially if you’ve been criticising him for not being flexible shortly before. But the idea that the team is dictating to the manager is not a particularly comfortable one for Blues fans who have seen this path all too many times before over the years.