Despite scoring the equaliser against Wolves, Maurizio Sarri believes Eden Hazard can still improve especially with his movement. Hazard was on hand late on to grab a point for Chelsea to cancel out Raul Jimenez’s opener for the visitors.
While fans inside Stamford Bridge were elated at the late goal, prior to that it had been a frustrating outing for the team, as they lacked the spark needed to cut Wolves open in the final third. At times, the passing in midfield from the likes of Jorginho appeared to be a little cautious. After the game, Sarri said the Italy international was limited in what he could offer given the static play of those around him, per Goal.
“Jorginho, if the other players do not move without the ball, is in trouble, because he is really very able to play with one touch. Of course if you want to play with one touch you need movements with the other players. I know him very well. He can go in trouble if all the rest of the team is not moving. … “We need to improve in this kind of situation. We can’t keep taking five or six touches. Hazard is a great player, he can solve this situation, but during the match was like the other players. He needs more movement without the ball.”
As Chelsea chased a goal, Sarri brought Jorginho off in place of Willian, triggering a rare change in formation from the coach. In the end, it was a moment of brilliance from Hazard rather than any tactical shift that gave Chelsea the draw. Having looked the biggest threat throughout the match, the Belgian was still sharp late on to find space and fire a shot past Rui Patricio.
For long spells it didn’t look as though Chelsea were going to find a way through, though. While Jorginho didn’t have a huge influence on the game, the Blues also lacked a midfielder to drive forward and knit attacks together, with Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante both poor.
Sarri’s unwillingness to change his setup has been a source of angst for Chelsea supporters, although there have been some small signs in recent weeks that he’s open to more flexibility. In recent games Chelsea have been more defensive in their outlook, while on Sunday he deviated from his preferred 4-3-3 blueprint.
With the right type of personnel around him, Jorginho has shown he can be an effective deep-lying midfielder. However, Chelsea fans will be thankful they have the quality of Hazard to rely on to pull them through these difficult moments.