Chelsea analysis: Jorginho underlines untouchable status under Sarri as Alvaro Morata woes continue

Willian shone wearing the captain's armband.
AFP/Getty Images
Simon Johnson20 September 2018

Chelsea got their Europa League campaign off to a winning start with a slender victory over PAOK in Greece.

Willian's seventh minute strike was the only goal of the game despite the visitors creating a host of chances.

Alvaro Morata passed up the majority of those, enduring another frustrating evening in front of goal before being replaced by Olivier Giroud late on.

With Eden Hazard left back in west London, Willian and Pedro were Maurizio Sarri's biggest threats throughout the evening.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Cardiff | 15/09/18

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There will be some concern for the Spaniard, however, who was forced off with an arm injury late on after a collision with the PAOK goalkeeper.

Standard Sport's Simon Johnson made the trip to Thessaloniki to cast an analytical eye over Sarri's first match in Europe as Blues boss.

Willian is doing his talking on the pitch too

The Brazil international has made no secret of his delight that Antonio Conte is no longer in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Last month he admitted there was ‘no chance’ he would have remained at Chelsea had Conte stayed in the job.

On the eve of this Europa League game the 30-year-old’s smile was clear to see as he spoke about Conte’s replacement – Maurizio Sarri.

It’s all very well discussing how things have improved for you personally, but you need to prove it when on the field.

Willian was made captain here and put in a skipper’s performance by showing attacking menace every chance he got.

His early goal settled any nerves that might have been prevalent in the away dressing room and the display overall was in keeping with the high standard reached so far this season.

Willian backed up his comments about his Chelsea commitment with a superb performance.
Reuters

Sarri’s biggest untouchable is Jorginho

Forget Eden Hazard, it appears the one player that the new Chelsea coach can’t live without is the summer buy from Napoli.

While Hazard was taking things easy back in London, Jorginho not only travelled to Thessaloniki, he started the match too.

That means the midfielder has been named in the first XI for every game this season – there is no rest for the wickedly talented Italian it seems.

It was quite a surprising decision given the intense schedule ahead of the Blues, but then he is the conductor of Sarri’s orchestra.

From the kick-off he was ordering his team-mates where to be and to give him possession as much as possible.

It was his neat forward pass to Ross Barkley which began the move that led to Chelsea taking the lead in the seventh minute.

Once again Chelsea bossed possession – a complete contrast to last term. And Jorginho is one of the main reasons why.

Arguably the biggest surprise of the evening came when Sarri finally decided to give the 26-year-old a break and substituted him in the 65th minute for Cesc Fabregas.

Another tough night for Alvaro Morata

Chelsea would have won this encounter far more comfortably had Morata not had another appearance to forget.

No-one can complain about the Spaniard’s effort here or the fact that he kept trying to find the net despite struggling for form.

Morata has scored just four goals in 2018, but he could have arguably doubled that tally had it not been for wayward finishing.

From the moment he sent a free header wide of the near post early on, the 25-year-old just couldn’t get things right.

The ball seemed to go everywhere but toward the goal – the one time he supplied the coolest of finishes in the second half, the assistant referee, perhaps wrongly, flagged offside.

Olivier Giroud, who remained unused on the bench until the last 10 minutes, will surely lead the line against West Ham on Sunday.

Morata endured another disappointing night for the Blues.
Reuters

Andreas Christensen was the best of the new recruits

Of the fringe players given an opportunity to make their mark, Christensen stood out the most.

Ross Barkley certainly had his moments in place of the injured Mateo Kovacic, but the one who looked most at ease in his position was Christensen.

This won’t come as a surprise to Chelsea supporters after the breakthrough made last season, but he has suffered from Sarri’s decision to use four at the back and employ David Luiz in every Premier League game.

Luiz has his qualities when the ball is at his feet, but the odd defensive lapse – like at Newcastle away – means few observers trust the Brazilian in that position.

Chelsea weren’t overly tested against a limited PAOK side here, however Sarri’s men looked far more solid with the Dane next to Antonio Rudiger.

Christensen made everything look easy and crucially had a bit more pace at his disposal than Luiz to snuff out any danger.

Kante was another first-team regular to start in Greece.
Getty

London Stadium will be a breeze after playing here

West Ham fans always tend to rally themselves whenever Chelsea come to town and give the west Londoners a very hot reception.

The trend has continued even after the much maligned move to Stratford and no doubt Sunday’s Premier League encounter will be no different.

But it surely won’t be able to match what the Greek club put on here. This was intimidation from the outset – actually from before kick-off when the home crowd even jeered the match officials.

In the main stand behind one of the goals the songs and chants were constant. Flares galore were let off and there was a light show, particularly when the teams came out.

Even when Willian put Chelsea in front there was a slight pause for a second before normal service resumed. The visitors were able to cope with it though and that should help them come the weekend.

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