MX23RW : Thursday, April 25 10:45:47| >> :120:6478:6478:
[monks data]
Attendance: 40,542
Chelsea logo
Premier League | Gameweek 28
Feb 27, 2019 at 8pm UK
 
Spurs logo

2-0

Pedro (57'), Trippier (84' og.)
FT(HT: 0-0)

Kepa Arrizabalaga has served his time says Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri

Arrizabalaga was left on the bench as punishment for refusing to be substituted in the Carabao Cup final

Maurizio Sarri's decision to drop goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was vindicated by Chelsea's 2-0 win over Tottenham which strengthens his position as head coach.

Heavy defeats to Bournemouth and Manchester City, coupled with the Blues fans' vitriolic abuse of Sarri's methods, put the 60-year-old in a precarious predicament prior to Sunday's Carabao Cup final with City.

The 4-3 penalty shootout loss was overshadowed by Kepa's refusal to be substituted, resulting in the world's most expensive goalkeeper dropping to the bench in Wednesday's win over Tottenham.

Maurizio Sarri
Maurizio Sarri (left) was vindicated in his decision to drop Kepa Arrizabalaga (Nick Potts/PA)

Sarri reckons the performance was on the same level as the one at Wembley, downplaying the call to cull Kepa on a win secured by Pedro's strike and a Kieran Trippier own goal.

"I think it was the right decision," Sarri said.

"Kepa made a big mistake, he paid with the club and then he had to pay with the team. Now I think we have to stop. Kepa from tomorrow will be with us."

Sarri does not expect the win to end questions over his future, but a favourable run of fixtures follows, beginning at Fulham on Sunday.

"I spoke with the club two, three times in the last days. The problem wasn't so big," Sarri said.

"It's not a big problem for me. In this job you are under pressure every week, if you're lucky every six months. It's normal.

"If you lose two matches, three matches in a row you're under pressure. I think it's normal for every coach, maybe something more in Chelsea."

Sarri insisted Kepa, a £71.6million buy from Athletic Bilbao last summer, remains his first choice, but he will share goalkeeping duties with Willy Caballero in the next two games, with Dynamo Kiev following the Craven Cottage trip.

"I don't know if in the next match he will be on the pitch or not. In one of the next two, for sure," added Sarri, who now wishes to move on.

Sarri says Kepa discovered his demotion in the team meeting, while Caballero was untested as Tottenham's troubles continued.

Spurs will be looking over their shoulders, Sarri says. They are third, seven points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea, who have a game in hand.

"It was really very important tonight because we're fighting for the top four," Sarri said of the win.

"I don't know but I think maybe with this result we could involve Tottenham in this fight. The gap is very large, seven points, but we have one match (in hand)."

Spurs next face Arsenal on Saturday after following up the Burnley loss with another at Chelsea which did not feature a shot on target.

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino had a simple answer for his side's disappointing display at Chelsea.

"We didn't shoot and I think we were not consistent enough," he said.

Asked if he was concerned about Tottenham's top-four place, with Arsenal four points behind in fourth and Manchester United a point further back, Pochettino said: "Why careful? I am not afraid. I have freedom in my mind. I have the same feeling as before.

Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur – Premier League – Stamford Bridge
Mauricio Pochettino is not worried about Tottenham's form (Nick Potts/PA)

"If people are scared now about the top four, that is football.

"After two defeats, maybe we're not there and not content, but we need to keep going and try to be ready for the next game. But it's not a drama.

"I don't care about the pressure to play against Arsenal, Chelsea or Burnley. It's the same feeling for me.

"We need to be ready to compete and give our best. If we win, I'll be happy. If we don't win, I'll be as unhappy as I am now."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Matt McGeehan, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '70aaa58d-cb8e-433f-99bc-6ea9619854e9');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Kepa Arrizabalaga has served his time says Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri'});

ID:351770: cacheID:351770:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10928:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Pedro celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League game on February 27, 2019.
Read Next:
5 things we learned from Chelsea's victory over Tottenham
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!