Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted that Chelsea counterpart Maurizio Sarri deserves time to impose his playing style on the team.
Speculation over Sarri's future has grown in recent weeks following a string of results which have included a 4-0 defeat to Bournemouth and a 6-0 rout at the hands of Guardiola's City.
City and Chelsea will do battle again in the EFL Cup final this afternoon - just two weeks after that 6-0 result at the Etihad Stadium - and Guardiola believes that Sarri deserves "huge credit" for trying to change Chelsea's philosophy.
"My appreciation of Maurizio Sarri began during his time at Napoli where he constructed a side capable of both brilliance and beauty. We played them in the Champions League and they were excellent, and they consistently challenged Juventus for the Serie A title, playing wonderful football in the process," Guardiola wrote in his programme notes for the final.
"He deserves huge credit for the way his sides play, and he's already made his mark at Chelsea. I could see as early as August, when we faced them at Wembley in the Community Shield, that he was changing the way they play, and they have continued to evolve since then.
"It's not easy for a manager to arrive at a club and make fundamental changes, but he has done so quickly. I can see he has a vision for Chelsea and I hope he gets the chance to fully realise it."
Man City could retain a trophy for the first time in their history with victory over Chelsea at Wembley this afternoon.
Barney Corkhill
