Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri was left shocked by Rafa Benitez’s decision to play five defenders in Newcastle’s fixture against the Blues on Sunday.
The two former Napoli managers came face to face for the first time in the Premier League at St James’ Park, as Chelsea came away with their third consecutive win.
It was a tight affair throughout but a penalty from Eden Hazard and an own goal from DeAndre Yedlin helped the Blues to secure a 2-1 win over Newcastle despite Joselu’s equaliser for the Magpies.
Chelsea were in dominant fashion as they totalled 81% possession in the match, with Sarri left surprised by Benitez’s defensive approach to the fixture.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his side’s win against Newcastle, Sarri admitted that he hadn’t anticipated that his counterpart would set up with three central defenders and two wing-backs.
I was surprised at Rafa. In Italy, I have never seen him play with five defenders so I was really surprised. The match was very difficult, they were so low and compact, it was impossible to have spaces. We got better in the second half but it was a very difficult game.
I think we showed improvement because the match was difficult it was not easy to play well.
Chelsea have won their first three Premier League games and Sarri will be hoping to continue in this vein of form, with a title charge not out of the question.
