Maurizio Sarri says he has no regrets over dropping goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Tottenham.
The Blues got the better of their London rivals at Stamford Bridge, with Willy Caballero coming into the side and keeping a clean-sheet.
So much of the pre-match talk surrounded Kepa, who has been in the headlines after refusing to be substituted in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
Speaking after the game, Sarri said leaving the Spaniard out made total sense, even though he will remain first-choice ‘keeper moving forward, returning to the team to face Fulham on Sunday:
I think it was the right decision, Kepa made a big mistake, he paid with the club, and then he had to pay with the team.
But now I have to think we have to stop, Kepa from tomorrow will be with us.
He is back in the team for the weekend, I don’t know in the next match if he will be on the pitch or not, but one of the next two he will [start].
When you are young I think you can make mistakes, and the most important thing is that you need to understand very well after every mistake.
For me, now the best thing is to close it
Sarri has enjoyed a welcome turnaround in fortunes of late, even though Chelsea lost at Wembley at the weekend.
He earned sympathy for Kepa’s behaviour towards him, while any victory over Spurs is going to give a Chelsea manager some leeway.
The Italian is still under huge pressure, but there are signs that he has turned a corner.
