Football
Liam Twomey, Chelsea correspondent 5y

Chelsea's Maurizio Sarri: We are not creating enough chances

LONDON -- Maurizio Sarri has said that Chelsea are not creating as many chances as they should be after watching his team held to a goalless draw by Everton at Stamford Bridge.

Marcos Alonso struck a post and Eden Hazard forced two good saves from Jordan Pickford as Chelsea pushed for a breakthrough in the second half, but Everton's goalkeeper went long spells without much to do as Marco Silva's aggressive pressing game plan successfully disrupted the home side's rhythm.

For Sarri, the match provided further evidence of problems in Chelsea's attacking game that have been playing on his mind in recent days.

"I didn't like very much the first 25 minutes because, like in the match against Crystal Palace, we started moving the ball very slowly," Sarri said. "So it was impossible for us to be dangerous, and easy for the opponents to defend.

"Then I think we played a very good match in the second part of the first half, and for 40 minutes in the second half. We were a bit unlucky. I am not happy of course, but I think we are [moving] in the right way."

Sarri also said his players needed to be more ruthless in the final third.

"I don't know," the Italian said when asked about the failure to create chances. "Usually, yes.

"Not in the last three matches because, as I said to my players, in the last three matches we created few goal opportunities in relation to how much we played. So, in this moment, it's maybe a little problem.

"But three matches is a very short time, so I don't know. Maybe it's chance. But we have to be careful, I think.

"We played very well for 65 minutes. Maybe we were not able to create for how much we play. For example, in the last match in the Europa League [against BATE], we played 81 balls in the opponents' box, but we created only four goal opportunities. We can do better. But I think we are playing very well."

The match was often ill-tempered, with Jorginho and Marcos Alonso fortunate not to be sent off for dangerous tackles on Gylfi Sigurdsson and Theo Walcott respectively as well as frequent angry exchanges between the Chelsea and Everton benches.

Sarri was seen trading words with Silva, but after the match the Italian played down any tensions.

"I think it was only a normal discussion on the pitch," he said. "It's normal on the pitch to be nervous. It can happen, but nothing serious. I don't know what to say about the way of playing of the opponents. There was a referee on the pitch. I think it's his work, his job."

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