{"id":326488,"date":"2018-12-28T13:35:21","date_gmt":"2018-12-28T18:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=326488"},"modified":"2018-12-28T14:04:35","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T19:04:35","slug":"maurizio-sarris-midseason-report-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2018\/12\/28\/maurizio-sarris-midseason-report-card\/","title":{"rendered":"Maurizio Sarri’s Midseason Report Card"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having hit the midway point in the Premier League season, now is a good a time as any to review how well Maurizio Sarri has done at Chelsea<\/a> in his first six months at the club.<\/p>\n

Maurizio Sarri and his Midseason Report Card: Things Have Started Well; Starting to Hit a Few Bumps in the Road<\/h1>\n

Premier League<\/h2>\n

Sarri arrived at Stamford Bridge late in the summer and did not really have a real opportunity to add the players he would have liked.<\/p>\n

The arrivals of Jorginho<\/a> and Kepa Arrizabalaga<\/a> have been important acquisitions and have played key roles.<\/p>\n

He also did not have the longest period of time to start working with his men as they jetted off to Australia prior to the beginning of the campaign.<\/p>\n

However, with 19 games having already been played in the Premier League, the Blues have managed to win 12 of those, with four draws and three defeats.<\/p>\n

In fact, it was not until the end of November when Chelsea suffered their first defeat, away to Tottenham Hotspur<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sarri has undoubtedly brought a new style of football to the Bridge with him \u2013 which has been dubbed as \u2018Sarri-ball\u2019<\/a>. They now look to play in a more attractive way and their results in games have certainly benefited from that.<\/p>\n

However, surprise defeats to Wolverhampton Wanderers<\/a> and Leicester City<\/a> will have spoilt the first half of the campaign for Chelsea.<\/p>\n

Cup Competitions<\/h2>\n

Whilst there is still some improvement for the club within the Premier League, they have rather eased their way through the cup competitions.<\/p>\n

The Blues are in the semi-finals of the League Cup \u2013 with a two-legged affair against Spurs to come.<\/p>\n

They coasted their way through the Europa League group stage and await Malmo in the next round of the tournament.<\/p>\n

If there could be any argument about how Sarri has approached those competitions, it could be his lack of using youth.<\/p>\n

Youngsters like Callum Hudson-Odoi<\/a> and Ethan Ampadu<\/a> are considered to be the future of Chelsea.<\/p>\n

However, they have had a rather limited opportunity under the management of the Italian.<\/p>\n

What Next For Sarri?<\/h2>\n

With the January transfer window fast approaching, Chelsea need to address one area of concern.<\/p>\n

The Blues lack a striker to score regularly, with Alvaro Morata<\/a> and Olivier Giroud<\/a> both struggling. Eden Hazard<\/a> has been the man that the club have had to rely on to make the difference \u2013 a little more than they may have originally wanted.<\/p>\n

If Sarri can incorporate youth into his matchday squad more often in the second half of the season, as well as find a striker, things look incredibly bright at Chelsea.<\/p>\n

Sarri Grade? B+<\/h2>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>