Sarri Says Hazard Presence Caused Defensive Issues At Chelsea

Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri has admitted that he struggled to field his preferred system while at Chelsea so as to be able to maximise the potential of Eden Hazard.

The Italian, who cut short his stay at Stamford Bridge to move back to Italy to take charge of the Serie A champions, described the Belgium international as a gamechanger however for his prowess.

Hazard, who has also left Chelsea to join Real Madrid, scored 21 goals and provided 17 assists for the Blues across all competitions in 2018-19.

Speaking at his official unveiling Turin, the 60-year-old stated that he believed he was unable to play to the free-flowing 4-3-3 approach he was acclaimed for at Napoli as he felt obliged to play his talismanic striker in his preferred role.

“In recent years, I’ve had 4-3-3, but the 4-3-3 at Chelsea was very different to the one at Napoli,” Sarri stated.

“We had to accommodate Hazard’s characteristics, as he could change the game, but also his presence caused issues in defending that we had to work on.”