Kepa's Antics Mount Fatal Pressure on Sarri

A fortnight after a merciless six-goal thumping up north, Maurizio Sarri once again was humiliated against the reigning Premier League champions. However, this time round it wasn't the scoreline doing the damage - it was his own player.

Towards the tail-end of a goalless 120 minutes in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga - who signed in the summer for a world-record fee - refused to be substituted off for second-in-command Willy Caballero, leaving the manager infuriated and having perhaps only his conscience to thank for the reason that he didn't storm out of the national stadium right there and then.

Manchester City claimed the first major trophy of the season on penalties, leaving the Blues with nowhere to hide. The drama that ensued in extra-time between keeper and manager was going straight to the morning papers. Some could even be forgiven for overlooking what the result of the league cup final was.

Unlike their Premier League showdown two weeks prior at the Etihad Stadium, Chelsea more than held their own this time round - much to the relief of manager Sarri who is under increasing pressure at the helm. The Italian's job security has been taking blow after blow, so it was much to his relief that when Chelsea duelled with the Citizens on this occasion it was far closer.

Over the 120 scoreless minutes, the Blues had shown some vital progress. It was almost as if with each passing minute, the chances of claiming the cup final grew greater, on course to a huge victory that would have certainly inflated fortunes for the remainder of the season to come.

And then, came the controversy. Kepa Arrizabalaga went down in the area a second time with what appeared to be cramp. Looking on from the touchline, Sarri prompted second choice keeper and former Manchester City player Willy Caballero to prepare to enter the game while the fourth official placed Kepa's number on the digital board. Kepa gestured to the dugout that he was fine to continue, and Sarri's attempts to stand his ground were in vein as the Spaniard would take duty for the penalty shootout.

Image: Manchester Evening News

Regardless of the apparent reasons for what has been described as a "miscommunication" by Sarri, what Kepa did in that moment was a direct undermining of his manager and team. It took a complete focus away from the game, which was a cup final in its dying embers venturing into penalty kicks.

From Kepa's point of view, he was appealing to stay on the pitch and show he was fit enough to continue. But Caballero could have given Chelsea the edge in the shootout considering his familiarity with the City squad. Instead, Wembley Stadium was a grand stage for Kepa to clearly defy his manager and rattle all the players - City were smelling blood as this chaos unfolded.

Other than David Luiz who had a quick word in his teammate's ear, the rest of the Chelsea squad seemed pretty unfazed and not willing to take sides. It was an instance like that where Sarri needed to rely on his squad to help enforce his management - and what happened in extra-time is the clearest evidence that he has lost this dressing room.

Whether it is now beyond repair remains to be seen. Chelsea have proved rather keen to quickly move on from that incident, with the manager somewhat fighting Kepa's corner while he took to social media to clear things up. There is certainly more to be dealt with in this matter, but it will likely be done behind closed doors considering their spat was infamously beamed out to a whole nation watching the Carabao Cup Final.

Kepa refuses to leave the pitch! 😲😲😲 pic.twitter.com/BSuckXYEJi

— FútbolMatrix ⚽ (@FutboIMatrix) February 24, 2019

Maurizio Sarri is finding life tough in England. "Sarriball" as the media have described it appears to be faltering in the English game, and the manager is in need of patience that the Blues' board rarely show. When you consider that a top-four finish is achievable and the Europa League remains an avenue to secure qualification to next year's Champions League, Sarri still has plenty of cards to play on the table.

But what could have been a season boost, a monumental turnaround and a first taste of victory for Chelsea's new manager turned into another catastrophic episode in what is quickly becoming a catalogue of them.

Hot on the heels of Chelsea being given a transfer ban from FIFA after the handling of youth players, it's a victory they badly needed. Still, the manner in which they lost, on penalties after a close game, is respectable. All that however was wiped away by Kepa's stubbornness and Sarri's inability to enforce his management. It's an opportunity that will be rued.

Plenty will undoubtedly go on behind the scenes after this, but the chances are with the way its going either keeper or manager won't see the start of next season. And most indicators point to the latter not making it.

Image: Getty Images