Chelsea winger Willian reportedly completely ignored the tactical instructions of manager Maurizio Sarri against Malmo in the Europa League this evening.
The Brazilian was supposedly urged to do more pressing by a screaming Sarri on the touchline, according to the Daily Star’s Paul Brown, only to ignore his manager’s request.
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Sarri just screamed at Willian, standing about ten yards away, to press the ball. Willian completely ignored him #CHEMAL
— Paul Brown (@pbsportswriter) February 21, 2019
While this kind of thing probably happens reasonably often in football games, this is bound to get more attention at Stamford Bridge right now due to the uncertainty over Sarri’s future.
The Italian tactician’s methods don’t seem to be working at Chelsea since he joined the club from Napoli in the summer.
There has already been talk from the Guardian and others that Sarri is nearing the sack at Chelsea, and while this Willian incident may seem small, it does suggest he is struggling to win over his players with his tactical ideas.
At the time of writing, CFC have not been too convincing against Malmo, though they have a 2-1 aggregate lead having won in Sweden in the first leg last week.