My players were overconfident in the loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers– Maurizio Sarri

In their next, The Blues will face a stern test at the Stamford Bridge, as they host Pep Guardiola’s men at the weekend

After a banging start to the Premier League campaign, Chelsea went on a 12-game unbeaten streak along with Manchester City and Liverpool. However, as the other two teams continued with their superb run of form, the Londoners slipped down the table, as they lost to Mauricio Pochettino’s  Tottenham side in their 13th game.

It wasn’t much of a denting loss for the Blues as they still stood third in the table, ahead of the Spurs by a point. However, two weeks later Wolverhampton Wanderers ensured that Maurizio Sarri’s men felt the heat by pulling off a shocking 2-1  comeback victory at the Molineux Stadium. With that defeat, they now stand 4th in the table, equal on points with fifth placed Arsenal.

After the disappointing result, Sarri went on to criticise his players’ attitude that cost them the game. It all looked good for his side as they led through a deflected shot from Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the first half. However, two goals in a span of four minutes by Wolves’ Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota in the second half, were everything the hosts needed to complete their comeback and take away all the three points.

After the game, the new Chelsea head coach said, “Of course, after this match, we lost confidence but maybe it is better. Sometimes my players show me that they have too much confidence.” Amidst a tight schedule in the League, Sarri had made five changes to the Blues side that defeated Fulham last weekend. Yet he denied any allegations that his team selection was the reason behind the loss at Molineux. “If you had asked me the same question after 55 minutes,  I would say yes, I was really very happy [with the team selection],” he said.

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“We lost everything, our football, the result, everything for an accident, a goal. It can happen but I don’t think it depends on the changes. It depends on mentality of the team I think. It was without reaction, we can lose a match, but not without a reaction,” added the former Napoli boss.

Next up for Chelsea is a huge game as they take on league leaders City at the Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Talking about the game, Sarri said, “ As I said before, City are the best in Europe, maybe in the world, they can win or not the Champions League, but that depends on the moments.”

“Last season I think City were the best team in Champions League, but then for two matches they played maybe not in their best moment. If you have to play against them for 10 months, they are the best in the world, I think, at the moment. So the match is difficult for this season.”