Maurizio Sarri talked about Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chelsea’s performance after the side’s thumping 3-0 win over Brighton.
Chelsea defeated Brighton 3-0 in a thoroughly dominating performance at the Stamford Bridge.
Goals from Olivier Giroud, Eden Hazard and Ruben Loftus-Cheek secured a crucial three points for Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge, as the side goes fifth in the Premier League table.
Chelsea overtook Manchester United, who faced a stunning 2-1 defeat to Wolves last night at the Molineux Stadium.
Maurizio Sarri handed Chelsea youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi a first Premier League start, and the player didn’t disappoint. After creating trouble for the Brighton defence in the initial few minutes, he made an instant impact with a brilliant assist for Olivier Giroud.
Maurizio Sarri on Chelsea’s performance:
The Chelsea boss stated that Callum Hudson-Odoi was ready to play, and did well to justify his place in the starting XI. He also admitted that the side’s performance dropped in the final 15 minutes, but insisted that Chelsea deserved to win.
“I think that the match was not easy,” Sarri said. “We played very well and at the end it seems to be very easy but I think that we deserved to win.
“We deserved to win 3-0 because we played a very good match with the right level of enthusiasm and intensity for 75 minutes. Not in the last 15, but I think we deserved to win.
“[Hudson Odoi was] very well, but I was sure about it as I said in the press conference, Callum is ready to play every game, also in the most difficult matches because he improved a lot during the season and I was sure about his performance.
“He played very well but I am really happy with him because we defended very well.”
The manager also praised Andreas Christensen’s performance in the game.
“I have to say another thing, we are talking about Callum and Ruben but I was impressed by Christensen on the pitch so I want to speak about him also because he played five or six matches really very well,” Sarri said.
However, Sarri stated that he told Hudson-Odoi after the game that he missed an easy chance in the first half, and had jokingly warned him to keep his feet on the ground.
“He is happy but I told him that he missed the very easy goal in the first half.
“He has to stay with the feet on the ground.”
The manager also thanked the fans for the bright atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.
“The atmosphere was wonderful today. The fans helped the players for 90 minutes, it’s easier when you win 3-0 but it was wonderful today and we must say thank you,” Sarri said.
How Twitter reacted..
Sarri: “I think the match was not easy. We played very well, and at the end it seemed to be very easy. But I think we deserved to win 3-0.” Says Chelsea had the right level of intensity for 75 minutes, ‘but not in the last 15 minutes’.
— Dan Levene (@danlevene) April 3, 2019
Sarri says this match was very suitable for Hudson-Odoi: “They usually defend very low, very tight. So he could start very wide.” Says this made it possible for him to play one-on-one with the defence 20-25 times in the match.
— Dan Levene (@danlevene) April 3, 2019
Sarri: @Calteck10 has shown he should start the rest of the games
Inner Sarri: Bench him next game. You know you want to pic.twitter.com/pqJ8OiGjOP
— Managerial Mindset (@ManagerialMinds) April 3, 2019
What next?
Chelsea return to action on Monday night as the side takes on West Ham in the Premier League.
