Dear reader, it looks like Maurizio Sarri will be in the Chelsea dugout on Sunday after all. Chelsea saw off Malmo in the Europa League last night meaning that the potential funny football news of John Terry’s first game as the interim manager being a cup final has been postponed.
But, there is still plenty more to laugh at as you’re about to find out.
So, let’s get this right. Sarri dropped Jorginho, picked Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chelsea turned in a performance that was almost acceptable? But he keeps telling us that Jorginho isn’t the problem and that Hudson-Odoi isn’t ready yet, no?
In fact, Sarri went on to say that Chelsea’s slow start last night showed exactly how important Jorginho is, conveniently ignoring the fact that the team sorted themselves out and had scored twice before the midfielder came on as a sub.
Sarri also then claimed that Hudson-Odoi had played more games as an English 18-year-old than anyone else this season in England, meaning he might get a bit of a shock when he sees Phil Foden on Sunday and may not be aware of a lad called Ryan Sessegnon just down the road at Fulham. Hudson-Odoi has played 14 times, the other two just a few more.
Anyway, nit-picking aside, Hudson-Odoi was (as expected) a very bright spark in the match and surely has to be in the reckoning for Sunday’s League Cup Final. No?
No.
It’ll be Pedro or Willian. It always is.
PSG have also woken up to the fact that it might be possible to nab Hudson-Odoi away from Stamford Bridge in the summer. And they are probably willing to pay that little bit more than Bayern Munich, what with them being very rich and all that.
Just a word of caution for Arsenal fans. Heading home from a set-piece isn’t the perfect response to all the criticism Shkodran Mustafi has been getting. I tell you what would be. Putting in a proper defensive shift in a few big matches. Even the Sunday league centre-back can get one to go in off his 50p head from time to time. It doesn’t make you Paolo Maldini.
Equally, beating BATE at home isn’t the sign of a mass revival. That said, if it persuades Unai Emery to accept that his team might just be a little better with Mesut Ozil in the team then that could be a bigger win than the 3-0 victory.
Bless Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva. He has got himself a little bit excited about Sunday’s fixture with Chelsea. Silva believes ‘retaining the League Cup would be historic’ for his club. Well, technically he is not incorrect. In one hundred years time, when people look back over who won the League Cup, they will notice that City won it twice in a row. As it happened in the past, it would be classified as history, therefore historic.
But, taking Silva’s true meaning, do me a favour. Nobody really cares about the League Cup anymore, least of all the FA.
Harry Kane thinks he is ready to return to action but Tottenham’s manager Mauricio Pochettino is not so sure. He has claimed he is having to hold Kane back just in case he isn’t as ready as he thinks he is. The Poch said that he ‘doesn’t care if he thinks he is ready or not’ probably sussing that Kane is mostly interested in another Golden Boot.
