Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri plays down title talk

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 02 September 2018

Maurizio Sarri plays down Chelsea title talk

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is "really happy" to have collected 12 points from 12 in the Premier League, but says that it will be "very difficult" to win the title.

Maurizio Sarri has insisted that there is still room for improvement following Chelsea's perfect start, but has played down his side's Premier League title chances.

The Blues battled to a 2-0 win over Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon to maintain their 100% record, having also defeated Huddersfield Town, Arsenal and Newcastle United.

Sarri predicted in August that it would take three or four months for Chelsea to click into gear following his summer appointment, but the Italian is pleased with the progress that has been made and intends to continue taking it one game at a time.

"I am happy with the result and I am happy with the performance. It was a very difficult game," he told reporters at his post-match presser. "They are very organised defensively, and defended very well. The first half, the situation was difficult.

"Maybe we needed to move the ball at another speed, and maybe more movements without the ball. But in this kind of match, usually you can win in the last 20-25 minutes. So I was always confident. At the moment I'm very happy with my players. They improved very well during the week and in matches.

"I'm really very happy to have 12 points from four matches, but I always think we can do more. We can improve. Especially in the performance, of course. We can improve. I think that, now, for us it's better to think about the next match.

"The gap at the beginning was 30 points. I think it's very difficult to recover this gap in only one season. I'm very happy with the four matches, but I think only, starting from now, about the next match. Not until the end of the season."

Sarri is the sixth manager to win his first four Premier League games in charge, following in the steps of Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Craig Shakespeare.