Chelsea and Manchester City clashed in the first major cup final of the domestic season on Sunday evening. The two sides met at Wembley to contest the Carabao Cup and it took a penalty shootout to separate them. After 120 minutes of football, the score remained 0-0 but it was Pep Guardiola's City who eventually lifted the trophy after a 4-3 shootout win. Jorginho saw his spot-kick saved by Ederson and David Luiz also hit the post for the Blues. Man City were more composed, missing just once through Leroy Sane before Raheem Sterling fired the decisive penalty past Kepa Arrizabalaga. Maurizio Sarri's season of struggle at Chelsea Ian Wright claims Chelsea are in 'disarray' Chelsea fine Kepa after Carabao Cup final The cup final was Chelsea's fourth defeat at Wembley this season - they've already been beaten in the Community Shield by Guardiola's side and twice by Tottenham. This latest loss will have a rather odd impact on the Blues, should they return to the home of English football again under Sarri. That's because their coach has a number of superstitions and some were even on show last weekend. Ahead of the cup final at Wembley, Chelsea abandoned their usually luxurious pre-match accommodation, under the instruction of Sarri. According to the Daily Mail, the Blues stayed at a functional business hotel on the A40 nearby the Park Royal industrial estate, close to the Hanger Lane gyratory. That's because the boss doesn't like to return to hotels if his team has lost after staying there. Therefore, a pre-match meet at the 5-star Landmark Hotel in Marylebone, where the Blues have often stayed ahead of Wembley finals, was ruled out. According to the same report, the club insists there were no complaints from players or staff, but it's still rather bizarre nonetheless. And changing hotel wasn't the only extreme superstition Sarri adhered to on Sunday. Ahead of extra-time, the coach refused to cross the touchline and step onto the Wembley turf to deliver a team talk to his players. Instead, they formed a circle near the edge of the pitch and Sarri joined but delivered his message from his side of the touchline. Even when he was arguing with Kepa moments before the shootout, he still refused to step near the pitch! Clearly, he's a fiercely superstitious person and it's unlikely losing to City in the Carabao Cup final will change that.
Maurizio Sarri's superstitions were spotted during Chelsea v Man City Carabao Cup final - YouTube |
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| Entertainment | Upload TimePublished on 26 Feb 2019 |
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