Maurizio Sarri feels he is “always at risk” of being sacked by Chelsea after watching them succumb to their heaviest defeat in almost 28 years.
The pressure intensified on the Italian after Sergio Aguero’s 11th Premier League hat-trick, Raheem Sterling’s double and Ilkay Gundogan’s goal wrapped up an incredible 6-0 win for Manchester City.
A miserable day at the Etihad Stadium was Chelsea’s worst result since losing 7-0 to Nottingham Forest in April 1991 and comes less than two weeks after a shock 4-0 hammering at Bournemouth.
Sarri made an encouraging start to his tenure as Chelsea were unbeaten after their first 12 top-flight matches under him but the Blues have faded out of title contention and face a battle to finish in the top four.
Their manager accepted he is concerned by their recent displays but gave a considered assessment when asked whether he fears for his future.
He said: “I don’t know, you have to ask the club. I am worried about my team, I am worried about the performance but my job is always at risk so I am not worried about the club. You have to ask the club.
“I didn’t see my football (against City). At the beginning (of the season) it worked. So now we need only to understand the reasons why at the moment it isn’t working. We need to understand the reasons.
“It is not easy. At the beginning, we played better away than at home. Now we are playing better at home than away.
“Something is changing. At the moment I am not able to see the reason but I have to work for this because my target is to play my football, not to change another football because at the moment we are playing another football.”
KHADIJAH YAKUBU AJIYA.
