Maurizio Sarri rips his players apart, then Gianfranco Zola picks up the pieces. It has become the Chelsea way — the old good cop, bad cop routine.
Head coach Sarri is the direct, no-nonsense disciplinarian. His assistant Zola is the nice guy who puts arms around shoulders and remembers what it was like to be a player.
In the aftermath of Chelsea’s 4-0 and 6-0 Premier League defeats by Bournemouth and Manchester City, Sarri spoke with brutal honesty. Zola then tried to instil a sense of positivity.
Chelsea bounced back with a 2-1 win over Swedish side Malmo in the Europa League on Thursday, but the real test awaits at Stamford Bridge on Monday against Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round.