Premier League 2018-19: How 'SarriBall' can be tweaked for success

With the Carabao Cup final ending in defeat for Chelsea FC, one would imagine that Maurizio Sarri is in line to be sacked soon, given his recent run of poor results with the football club. It may not be that straightforward though, as the Chelsea players put in a passionate and gritty performance to restrict Manchester City and take the game to penalties before losing out in unfortunate fashion.

Tactical analyses by both coaches in their respective post-match press conferences brought to light the fact that Chelsea did not press Ederson as much as they did in their prior 6-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League. Not only was this a smart move by Sarri, but it also showed the Chelsea faithful that 'SarriBall' was not this rigid and stubborn militarist coaching style, but something that could be adaptive and successful when it needs to be.

The only thing Sarri requires from Chelsea (fans and the football club alike) right now, is patience.

One of the other important patterns visible during the match was that Jorginho and N'Golo Kanté almost switched positions when Chelsea did not have the ball. Kanté dropped into the screening midfielder role to stop City's fluid attacks, whilst Jorginho played the Regista's role when Chelsea had possession.

This is the trigger that should help Chelsea fans realise the potential of SarriBall being successful at their club. It can allow their favourite team to play a classy brand of football whilst winning trophies.

In my opinion, a few simple tweaks can help Chelsea become a formidable force to be reckoned with. SarriBall, as explained by Tifo Football, uses a 4-5-1 whilst defending.

The problem with this 4-5-1 is that Jorginho is the screening midfielder and he is just not good enough at defending at the highest level in the Premier League. But what Sarri does have is the best screening midfielder in the world in Kanté, and he can use him in a simple 4-2-3-1 as a double-pivot when Chelsea do not have possession of the ball.

Chelsea (Out of possession)

Another change that is definitely warranted in my opinion is to switch Antonio Rüdiger and David Luiz's positions due to Kanté being deployed by Sarri on the right side of a midfield 3 at kickoff. Rüdiger may not be as creative as Luiz, and whilst I know that Sarri focuses on the left half of the field to be the creative outlet when moving the ball during offense, it is also important for Sarri to understand that both Jorginho and Luiz defending the same side of the pitch will create a lot of opportunities for any opposition - ranging from Huddersfield to Liverpool.

Moreover, Rüdiger in my opinion is not only their joint best out-and-out defender (Azpilicueta shares this title with him), but can also play passes almost as good as Luiz and can help organise the back-line. Rüdiger is an asset to Chelsea, and is being slightly underutilised. If anything, Jorginho could learn some defending from Rüdiger.

Marcos Alonso does not fit Sarri's system and must be sold in the coming summer if Sarri is Chelsea's preferred head coach next season.

These slight tweaks could propel a SarriBall-driven Chelsea to the heights that they are capable of. But does the club have the patience to implement them?