Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport

Chelsea players made to fret over places as Maurizio Sarri makes squad wait on semi-final team

Maurizio Sarri left his players worrying over his line-up for Thursday's League Cup semi-final.

This is Sarri’s biggest game since he took charge in July, especially as it follows the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal, and Standard Sport understands the Italian chose not to tell his squad who was in the XI on Wednesday.

It is believed several combinations were used during training so that individuals were left to fret.

Not for the first time, Sarri decided to have a final, light training drill on the morning of the match to work on specifics such as set pieces. That was when the Italian was set to inform the group who has made the cut.

Sarri's decision to train on the day of a game was a surprise after Alvaro Morata suffered a hamstring problem in similar circumstances ahead of the first leg with Spurs at Wembley earlier this month.

Sarri had a number of decisions to make, including whether to play Eden Hazard as a false nine or use striker Olivier Giroud up front.

Teenager Callum Hudson-Odoi impressed at Wembley in the first leg a fortnight ago and was pushing to be involved instead of Willian or Pedro.

There was also scrutiny over whether to select defender Andreas Christensen after reports he left the bench before the end of the Arsenal game to use the toilet and did not return.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.