Chelsea star Pedro has admitted that sometimes his team struggles to put Maurizio Sarri’s high-intensity tactics into practice, while affirming they are 100 per cent behind the under-fire boss.
After making a bright start at Stamford Bridge, the former Napoli coach has found life in the Premier League rather trickier in recent months.
Sunday’s 6-0 humiliation at the hands of Manchester City showed how far the Blues trail the current reigning champions, while also heightening the pressure on Sarri’s shoulders.
The Italian’s ‘Sarriball’ approach has been closely discussed and analysed since he arrived in London, but Pedro confesses that it is at times just as challenging for the players.
“All the team follows the idea of Maurizio: press really high, stay compact, and to create chances. With good possession, a lot of the ball. We can do this as a team,” the Spaniard told reporters on Wednesday.
“But sometimes it’s so difficult to play in this way. It depends upon the opponents. City played very well, so it was so difficult to press, to create between the lines and to defend.
“But it’s Maurizio’s idea, and I prefer to press high when we recover the ball to create chances, not to wait for 90 minutes to recover the ball and run 60 metres to score the goal.
“In the last few games it’s not been in very good condition for the results. Now is a good opportunity tomorrow to win and get our best confidence.”
Pedro went on to reject the notion that Chelsea suffer from a toxic dressing room, despite the club going through three managers in as many years.
“I think it is always difficult for every manager, when you arrive with good motivation and ambition. It’s not just in the Chelsea dressing-room. For all coaches, it’s difficult,” the winger explained.
“It’s not good for [Sarri] and the team because the results have not been good, but it’s good for us to change this dynamic now.
“It’s good for us going into the final against City, the FA Cup against United. In the league, it’s difficult for us to hit our targets, but we’re still in four competitions. That’s good for us. It’s too early to analyse the season. We do that at the end of the season. Malmo is a good opportunity.”
Chelsea will look to bounce back from their weekend humbling on Thursday, when Malmo await in the Europa League last 32.