6 lessons for Chelsea from the loss against Manchester City
The 2018-19 English domestic season got underway with the traditional curtain-raiser, the FA Community Shield at the Wembley Stadium. Premier League Champions Manchester City comfortably beat the FA Cup holders Chelsea 2-0 in a largely one-sided game. Veteran striker Sergio Aguero was the hero for Pep's Guardiola's side as he scored a brace.
The defending Champions put up a commanding performance and sent a stern warning to the league. While City showed why they finished with 100 points last season, it is visible why Chelsea were 30 points behind them.
#6 Sarri ball is going to take time
In truth, Manchester City were all over Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. Maurizio Sarri's side barely got a foothold in the game. But the Chelsea faithful would be naive to read too much into this game.
It must not be forgotten that Manchester City are in their 3rd year under Pep Guardiola and have registered themselves as one of the greatest Premier League sides ever in history books, while, on the other hand, Chelsea have only trained for three weeks under Maurizio Sarri.
It was evident at the Wembley Stadium that Chelsea is miles away from what the former Napoli gaffer wants them to be. But Chelsea fans and, more importantly, the board has to give him time and have patience. For the last six years, Chelsea has had drastically different managers to Maurizio Sarri in style and principles. Such a massive change does not happen overnight.
Even with all the quality Guardiola inherited and the financial backing, it took the former Barcelona coach a year to get the best of his team. Sarri neither has the same level of quality in place or been given as much money to spend so far.
In fact, Pep's first season in Manchester was hardly inspiring with embarrassing defeats to the likes of Leicester and Everton. Jurgen Klopp is another example of how it takes time for the manager to get his philosophy completely in place.
Its important for everyone around Chelsea to believe in the process. It will not be easy in the start, but if they stick with him, the rewards could be huge. Their opponents Manchester City showed today, what they can potentially become. One must remember in his first five games in charge of Napoli, Sarri's team only won one game.