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Maurizio Sarri risked extending his relationship with Eden Hazard by suggesting that the Belgian was "more of an individual player than a leader", ahead of the return leg of the Chelsea Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur, a match for which Gonzalo Higuaín will not be available.
Sarri had accused his players of being "extremely difficult to motivate" after Arsenal's moderate defeat on Saturday, and has since spoken twice with his team to reorganize their approach. Juvenile's arrival on loan from Higuaín, an agreement expected to be announced Wednesday afternoon after his flight to London, could help, but the player did not complete the paperwork at the end of the match to stand against Spurs.
However, the situation in Chelsea was clearly threatened after a fourth defeat in 11 Premier League games, so Sarri's decision to question Hazard's leadership qualities seemed untimely. The uncertainty surrounding the contract situation of the 28-year-old has been a recurring theme since the beginning of the season, with Real Madrid's interest being omnipresent. However, even in an uncomfortable role of No 9, he contributed significantly in terms of goals and aids under the direction of the Italian.
Sarri had mentioned Cesar Azpilicueta, who currently wears the armband in the absence of Gary Cahill, and David Luiz as "players with the characteristics of being leaders", "who could" help all other players to acquire the right mentality ". . Asked that Hazard, who has been captain of Belgium 28 times and led him to third place in the World Cup last summer, also has such qualities, he replied: "I do not do not know yet. At the moment, he is no longer an individual player. than a leader. He is very important to us, of course, because he is an excellent player. He can always win the match in two minutes. Sometimes in a minute. But for now, he is not a leader. He is an excellent player. One of the best in the world.
"I think he said that the coaches had told him that he had to do more. I think he has to do more. Because the potential is greater than the performance. He must first respect himself. He must do more. You know very well that Eden, for the moment, is a great player. But he is an individual player. He is an instinctive player. For him, it's very difficult to play in a position. He likes to go ball, in the direction of the ball. He wants the ball at his feet. It is therefore very difficult for him to play as an attacker, but also as a sailor. We have to organize the other 10 players in the defensive phase because he has to play everywhere on the pitch. "
Hazard gave an interview to France Football mid-week in which he admitted to having frustrated all the coaches he had worked with. When asked if Sarri was counted among them, the Italian added with a chuckle: "Sometimes. I prefer him when he talks with his feet. "
Higuaín is expected to be at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea look to fill a 1-0 deficit in the first leg and could make their debut in the first leg of the FA Cup Fourth Round against Sheffield on Wednesday.
"He's a very good striker, especially during my first season in Naples. [in 2015-16]Said Sarri, who apparently did not know the player's noon kickoff for Thursday's game, "He's done very well." He scored 36 goals in 35 games in Serie A This season he has scored 38 goals so he has done very well and he is one of the best strikers of my career.I think he played four seasons for Real Madrid. I think he's got the right experience to play here.
"We hope that he scores goals, that he starts to score for us. He is also very good on other aspects, other than goals, but that's what we hope for. He had some difficulties recently, but we hope to bring him back to his best. He still scored eight goals [at Milan on loan from Juventus this season] in a team that is not at the same level as Juventus.
"We have to react on the ground. The rest is nothing. We discussed with the players ways to improve approach, motivation, determination. So we try to change something in training, in preparations, in all areas. But I think we all have to react on the ground. We had to discuss our problems. If I want to improve, the first step is to accept the errors. Otherwise, it is impossible to improve. It was a normal discussion to improve.
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