CONFERENCE CALL: PLENTY OF POSITIVES
Maurizio Sarri said he was pleased with the performance of his side, particularly from a defensive perspective in the second half, following our 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
Eden Hazard had given us a first-half lead with his seventh goal of the season, but with the Blues seemingly on course for all three points, Liverpool substitute Daniel Sturridge rescued a point for the visitors with an 89th-minute strike.
'I am disappointed because they scored in the last minutes but in the end I'm happy, firstly with the performance, and I think a draw maybe is the right result, the match was wonderful,' said the Italian, as he reflected on the game. 'I'm really happy with the defensive performance of my side, especially in the second half.'
Sarri was asked if he felt the two meetings between the sides this week have changed his opinion about Liverpool being further ahead of us in terms of their development
'No. I think they are a step forward. I also think we are closer than I thought one week ago.'
Hazard missed a good chance at 1-0, and Sarri spoke about whether or not we are too reliant on the Belgian for goals
'I think that he's able to score 40 goals, so he has to score another 33,' he laughed. 'I think so and he's trying to do it. I think at the end of the season we can have four or five players with over 10 goals so it's not only Hazard. I think Pedro, Willian and Morata will be able to score more than 10 goals this season. Pedro already has three.'
The Blues boss also spoke about the contributions of Olivier Giroud, who started, and Alvaro Morata, who came off the bench, and the fact they haven't scored of late
'I want to see at this moment Giroud and Morata because I think it's right. You know their characteristics. Giroud is very important for his team-mates and I thought today Morata, in the last 25 minutes, was more aggressive than normal. I'm not really worried because we have wingers who are able to score.'
Sarri also provided his thoughts on his side achieving a top-four finish
'Here there are six or seven top-level teams, top-level in Europe, not just England, so it's not easy to get into the Champions League. We have to try of course, try to stay near them and try to improve more.'
Comments
Post a Comment