Man Utd’s Manuel Ugarte in doubt to face Brentford after suffering knock vs Ecuador
The nature of his injury remains unclear, but it raises concerns over his availability for Saturday’s clash at Old Trafford.
Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri refused to be downbeat after his side dropped points for the first time this season with their 0-0 draw against West Ham United on Sunday.
“It’s impossible to win every match. One point is okay for today, ” Sarri told his post-match presser at the London Stadium.
“I knew West Ham are a very good team. I didn’t know why they had lost the first four matches in the Premier League, and maybe now they had confidence after they won at Everton.”
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The Blues dominated the possession stats, but arguably West Ham had the better chances on the night and a draw was probably a fair result.
“In my statistics, we had seven opportunities against three. Maybe we could have done better in the last 25 minutes of the first half. We played well in the second half generally, but only very well in the last 25 minutes.”
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Sarri had demanded that star player Eden Hazard be more influential in the final third of the pitch in the buildup to their clash with the Hammers, but he admitted the Belgian wasn’t as effective as he should have been.
“Not in the first half. Better in the second half. It was very difficult to play inside. They were cutting off very well every kind of pass for (Olivier) Giroud.”
Chelsea don’t have any time to dwell on the dropped points for up next is a midweek Carabao Cup clash with Premier League leaders Liverpool.
“We needed two wingers. Hazard did very well in the last 25 minutes, more on the right than the left, but it was really very difficult today for the striker and the two wingers.”
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And the Blues take on the Reds again, this time in the Premier League, on the weekend to make it a crucial week for the West Londoners.
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