Chelsea coach, Maurizio Sarri has revealed why Nigerian International Victor Moses and England’s Danny Drinkwater no longer feature for the Blues.
Drinkwater last played for the Blues in the Community Shield where he came off the bench against Manchester City while Moses has found himself almost permanently on the bench after he was one of the first names on the team sheet in the two-year reign of Antonio Conte.
Sarri, speaking before the game against Crystal Palace, noted that neither player suits his style of football hence, the reason they aren’t playing.
“I think the situation is that Drinkwater for me is not suitable for a midfield with two other midfielders. I told him two months ago what I think,”Sarri said of the former Leicester man
As for Moses, Sarri said: “Moses is more suitable for playing wing back than like a winger or a full back, I think. I don’t know [if they have a future]. They have to improve but their characteristics are a little bit different.”
The Italian tactician has used mostly the same players in most matches, but hit out at suggestions that he doesn’t rotate enough.
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“We used 26 players in official matches this season so the rotation at the moment is this but I don’t know in the future,” Sarri added. “I know that we used 26 players in this season. If you look only in the Premier League the situation is that, you are right [only used 19 players] but I have to look at all competitions.” He said
“Ninety minutes are 90 minutes. You have to look at the League Cup, Europa League and the national team. I have to look also at the minutes in the national teams. So I think the rotation is good. Every moment was done only between the Europa League, League Cup and Premier League but in the future it will be different.
“No, of course if you look at December and January, you need to change also in the Premier League because we will play every three days in the Premier League. So we need to change in the Premier League. We didn’t use 26 players in Naples but I have to choose about this situation of the club. About the atmosphere.”
Sarri said that his reluctance to change up his team more might come from the philosophy in Italy where the Serie A is the only competition they really care about
“In Naples, everybody wanted to win Serie A. Only Serie A. So maybe this atmosphere influenced my choices. It was clear in Naples, in the last season. Everyone wanted to win Serie A, not the other competitions. When I arrived in Naples, the gap was 24 points. In the last season it was only four points.
“I think that we have worked very well. When I arrived here the gap was 30 points, so the first step is to try and cover the gap. We are trying. I don’t know how many points we can cover in the near future but first of all we try to cover the gap and then we can try to think something different. At the moment we can think only that we need to cover the gap.”