#2 – Not changing players
Sticking to a formation is fine as long as Sarri was changing the players on the pitch. Every player has different characteristics and can provide something new every time he gets the ball. However, the manager not only stuck to his formation, but also the same set of players as well. It even came to a point where he was making the same substitutions as well.
More than the formation remaining the same, the lack of rotation is what has hurt Chelsea the most. Not only have they suffered on the pitch, they are bound to suffer off it as well.
Willian, Pedro, Ross Barkley, and Marcos Alonso should have never been in the starting lineup from October, but somehow, all of them were starting games regularly, and they were doing the exact same thing in every single match.
What could have been done differently? There are a lot of players on the bench at Chelsea who would be starting for other clubs around the world. However, Sarri never saw them ideal for his tactics and never really gave them a chance.
Instead of playing Hazard as a False 9, he could have used Giroud. Instead of Willian and Pedro, he could have given Callum Hudson-Odoi a chance and with Barkley and Kovacic not delivering, Sarri should have turned to Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
#3 – Not trusting the youth
Hudson-Odoi would be in a majority of the Premier League clubs’ starting lineup right now but somehow, Sarri feels that playing him regularly would be a bad thing for him. The manager wants to make sure that the youngster is not put under pressure and is given time to make it onto the big stage.
Even in the defence, Sarri kept playing with David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger instead of giving Andreas Christensen a chance.
The Dane is a brilliant ball-playing centre-back, and would have been a great asset in the team. Luiz’s mistakes have cost Chelsea dearly this season, and that should have made Sarri think twice.
What could have been done differently? Hudson-Odoi, Christensen and Ruben Loftus-Cheek should have been a vital part of the Chelsea XI right now and they would have done a lot more than what the current crop of Willian/Pedro, Ross Barkley and David Luiz would have done this season.
