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Alla Zakarian

21-12-2018 | 17:05 Football
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Maurizio Sarri on Higuain, Eden Hazard and Jose Mourinho. Press conference

Chelsea are back in Premier League action against Leicester City this weekend after securing passage to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup in midweek. Two defeats in their last five League games may leave the title race a bridge too far this season, but the Blues are only eight points behind leaders Liverpool heading into the festive fixture period. Meanwhile, Leicester will be aiming to record the first win at Stamford Bridge since 2000. Ahead of the clash, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has faced the press and discussed many topics. Here is the full transcript of his press conference (Via Football.London) Will the PL miss Mourinho? I think so. Mourinho won everything, won everywhere so I like him very much as a coach and as a man. I think he is right when he said that Manchester has a future without Mourinho, but he has a great future without United. I would like to see him on the bench as soon as possible. Maybe in England.... not here! A difficult job for Ole Gunnar? I remember him as a player, but not as a coach. Of course, the job will be difficult. Injuries We have a little injury with Christensen, with his hamstring. The doctor said it is not serious but needs to rest for one week. Christensen I think Barcelona announced a new centre-back. Christensen for sure is out of the matter at the moment. He is an important player, he is young and will be more important in the future. Hazard as false 9 I don’t know about Wilson. Eddie is a friend and I want to see him happy. We started the two matches as Hazard as a striker. Then I wanted to see the solution to work in other situations, so I need two or three matches to see it. I explained the point of view to Giroud, then we will see. The solution is good I think. We played a good match against City and against Brighton we were dangerous for 60 minutes. Then it was a different match, more physical. We needed to kill the match before, the players thought it was under control. We lowered the level of application. We need to avoid this as we have to think to kill the match. I don’t know yet. Giroud played 90 minutes on Wednesday, Morata has just started training after ten days out. Can you reach your target of 80 points? It is not easy. 80 points is a high average and it is not easy in the Premier League. We have to just think about this match. They are a technical team but have players very fast, so a dangerous mix. We need a good performance to gain three points. Higuain I like him very much, he is a wonderful player and man. But I don’t want to talk about Higuain. I have two and a half strikers at the moment, Higuain plays for Milan. Have you seen enough of the false 9 that it can work all the time? I don’t know. I was sure about City in that position we could do a good match. Against Brighton, I started to see this situation in different matches. Now I want to see it against a team very compact, in low density. We have to see. Hazard There isn’t the best position for Hazard. He is a wonderful player, you have to let him be free on the pitch. Are Chelsea title contenders? No, I have never seen Chelsea as title contenders for the PL. There are two teams ahead of us. Does Hazard like the false nine? I told me he likes very much to play there. I didn't hear last season, so I don’t know why he said that before. Danny Drinkwater He is in the PL list, but not Europe. He is a very good midfielder but is suited to playing with two midfielders. His problem is my football. I don’t know his future, it is up to the club and to him.

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