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Cape Town - The football evolution at Chelsea continued this weekend, following an emphatic victory against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The visitors were outwitted, outlasted and outplayed by a Chelsea team that continues to redefine itself under the administration of Maurizio Sarri.
Chelsea still isn't really in the race for the Premier League title this season. However, the bigger picture does look ominous and that is largely because Sarri's football philosophy is starting to filter through to his players.
"If you believe in a style of playing, you have to improve to do this way of football very well," said Sarri, following the win against City.
A word bandied about quite often in footballing circles is consistency and that is something Sarri has been striving towards the entire campaign - it is also starting to yield meaningful results.
"The target is this; not to change the style of football, the system and the players every match. It's very easy to change when you face a difficulty, but it's not the right solution," added Sarri.
Far too often, managers turn to the cheque book when results are not forthcoming. Even though Chelsea does have the capacity to splash the cash, Sarri does not believe in that method.
"We need to understand very well the style of play. We need to change mentality, not because the old mentality was bad, but because it's not suitable with the new way of playing," added Sarri.
"Then, after all this, maybe you need one player in one position to change the team. You cannot think you can buy 11 new players without problems. Then the problems will be the same. You have to create a new mentality and a new style of playing."
"I think we need to improve and arrive at 95 per cent of our potential, and then we can get the last five per cent with one new player, not 11 new players."
