David Luiz says Chelsea’s performance against Manchester City showed the players are behind Maurizio Sarri.
Sarri’s job is currently on the line at Stamford Bridge, following an unpredictable first year in the job.
The Blues battled bravely against a star-studded City side on Sunday, eventually losing on penalties in the EFL Cup final at Wembley.
The match will be remembered for the incident involving Sarri and Kepa Arrizabalaga, in which player power appeared to come to the fore, with the goalkeeper refusing to be substituted.
The incident has since blown over, however, and there are signs that Sarri has more players fighting for him than first thought.
Luiz spoke about the response of the team after being humiliated 6-0 by City earlier this month and heaped praise on his manager:
The first thing after the 6-0 we had to recognise what we did badly and try to improve.
I think we did that [on Sunday] we showed that on the pitch against the same team.
That’s why we played an amazing game. We also wanted to show that with our performance because he’s a great manager, he’s a great person and he deserves our respect and deserves the respect of everybody.
He can lift everyone for the rest of the season and that’s our goal.
Chelsea host Tottenham on Wednesday night, in another vital game in the top-four battle.
Defeat would likely cost Sarri his job, despite more positivity heading in his direction since the final.
