Chelsea news: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink reacts to Kepa Arrizabalaga meltdown and insists Maurizio Sarri should NOT be under pressure
Former Blues striker was ‘doing his nut’ about the Carabao Cup final incident, according to talkSPORT host Jim White
Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has had his say on the incredible Carabao Cup final scenes which have seen Kepa Arrizabalaga accused of humiliating and undermining Maurizio Sarri.
The Italian boss went into meltdown on the sidelines after the rebellious goalkeeper went against orders and refused to be substituted for Willy Caballero late on in the Wembley clash.
Hasselbaink has also insisted Sarri deserves credit for the Blues’ performance against Manchester City and should NOT be under pressure after only seven months in charge.
The Blues put up a strong resistance against the defending cup holders, but eventually lost the final in a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw.
But few are talking about the result, or City’s second straight EFL Cup win, as Sarri’s fury with Kepa is dominating the headlines.
Sarri had wanted to replace the world’s most expensive goalkeeper, who had been struggling with cramp, for Caballero – a penalty expert and a former City player – only for Kepa to scream ‘NO’ at the dugout and insist he was not leaving the pitch.
Stamford Bridge hero Hasselbaink was ‘doing his nut’ about the incident, according to Jim White, who sat alongside him during the game.
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But he was more understanding after the match and didn't believe the 'hype' that Kepa was deliberately undermining his boss by refusing to come off.
“I personally have never seen something like it,” he told the talkSPORT host.
“You can take it two ways.
“He might have thought, ‘No I’m okay, I want to stay in the game and help my team by stopping the penalties. I can do it’. But on the other hand, the manager asked for the sub and when the manager asks for the sub that’s the last of it, and you should go with the decision of the manager.
“I can understand where he’s coming from, that he wants to help the team, but the manager should have the final say.
“You can hype it up and say it was disrespect, but I don’t think Kepa is that kind of person. I think it was just the heat of the game.
“So yes, they should have a good chat and Sarri needs to get to the bottom of it, but I think we should let them analyse it, and find out what happened and why it happened.”
Chelsea fans would have been forgiven for fearing the worst ahead of the final, after their last meeting with City ended in a 6-0 mauling.
But, after weeks of complaints about Sarri’s stubbornness, poor tactics and refusal to change a broken system, Chelsea put up a better fight this time around.
And Hasselbaink has thrown his support behind Sarri, insisting he should be given more time.
“I don’t think Sarri should be under pressure, he’s just starting a new job, with a new way and today they showed the can play football,” added the Dutchman.
“Sarri also showed he can change things when it needs to be changed.
“Let’s give him the credit, he changed something so the dynamics of the team were changed and he might have to do that in more matches.”
Listen back to talkSPORT's interview with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink IN FULL above!