Football
Liam Twomey, Chelsea correspondent 5y

Chelsea boss Sarri worried about poor results, not supporters' chants for sacking

Maurizio Sarri said he was not worried about the hostility of the Chelsea supporters towards his football after watching his team exit the FA Cup with a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

The atmosphere towards Sarri turned toxic once United surged ahead thanks to first-half goals from Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba, with boos greeting the end of both halves and chants of "F--- Sarriball" from the stands as Chelsea laboured to find a way through the visiting defence.

It was Chelsea's fifth defeat in 12 matches across all competitions in 2019, and after the match Sarri insisted that he is more concerned about his team's struggles on the pitch than the vitriol directed at him by supporters.

"I am worried about the result," Sarri said. "Not about the fans. I can understand the situation because the result wasn't good. We are out of the FA Cup so I can understand [the reaction]. I am worried about our results.

"I think that we were unlucky because the first half we played better than the opponent and at the end the score was 2-0. In the second it was difficult because they are physical, defended very low and compact so we played confusing football in the second.

"In the first half we played well. We need more aggressiveness, more determination in the situation in our box and inside the opposite box because the difference was there.

"We played 78 balls in the opposite box and United played only 16 in ours."

Despite their dominance of possession, Chelsea mustered just two shots on target, both in the first half, while Sarri further infuriated Stamford Bridge by leaving Callum Hudson-Odoi and Olivier Giroud unused on the substitutes' bench while bringing on Davide Zappacosta for Cesar Azpilicueta eight minutes from time.

Asked if his Chelsea players fully grasp his style of football, Sarri replied: "Not completely at the moment, because especially in a situation like the second half when we we need to move the ball faster, mentally and materially.

"We need more movements without the ball and less actions individually because when you have spaces you can go for the individual action, but when the situation is like the second you must move the ball faster."

This latest setback, coupled with the strength of fan hostility, will only intensify speculation about Sarri's job security at Chelsea, but the Italian remains adamant his future is not on his mind.

"No [I'm not concerned]," he finished. "I was worried when I was in League Two in italy, not now."

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