Aston Villa coach John Terry has sympathised with manager Maurizio Sarri following Chelsea’s League Cup final defeat at the hands of Manchester City. The Blues produced a resolute defensive performance to keep the holders at bay for most of the game but ultimately, the Citizens reigned supreme through a penalty shootout.
However, the game was not free from any controversy after the altercation between KepaArrizabalaga and Sarri became the focus of attention at the Wembley Stadium. With minutes left before the shootout, Sarri had appeared determined to replace Kepa with Willy Caballero in goal but the substitution never happened with the Spaniard deciding to stay put on the playing field.
“This had visibly brought up the frustration from the Blues’ boss, who nearly left the dugout“ and Terry believes that the situation could have an effect on the Italian’s position with the club, he told Sky Sports: "It leaves Sarri in a tough place - I'm surprised he didn't force him to come off. It will be interesting how it pans out in the next 24 hours for the club. It's not the end of it - it's a cloud over a really good Chelsea performance especially with what's happened of late, as the results and performances “haven't been good enough“. It's disappointing - let's see what happens now."
Speaking after the game, Sarri appeared to play down the incident by suggesting that he had a big misunderstanding with the goalkeeper, who had been suffering from cramps. However, it was quite visible that the argument was quite different from what Sarri was stating and it remains to be seen whether Kepa faces any sanctions from the club after disrespecting the head coach. Meanwhile, Sarri’s future itself remains under discussion and there have been calls for him to walk out after the unexpected behaviour from Kepa.