Malang Sarr proves he could be the answer to Chelsea’s full-back crisis

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Malang Sarr was the standout player as Chelsea cruised into the final of the Carabao Cup with a 3-0 aggregate score against Tottenham Hotspur.

Sarr started as a centre-back in a back four with Chelsea picking up a 2-0 win in the first-leg of the tie. However, Thomas Tuchel this time opted to bench Marcos Alonso, who is more accustomed to the role of left-back and instead chose to play Sarr in that position as the Blues beat Spurs 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The 22-year-old is usually deployed as a left-sided centre-back in a back three, however, with Ben Chilwell having been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury and Tuchel seemingly unconvinced by Alonso, the Chelsea manager has been forced to search for a solution to the problem.

The Blues have been linked with Lucas Digne and have also explored the option of recalling Emerson Palmieri from Olympique Lyon in order to fill the void this January, but they may have stumbled across a less expensive solution within their squad already.

Sarr produced an extremely assured performance down the left flank, snuffing out the challenges posed by Giovani Lo Celso and Emerson Royal as Tottenham looked to chase down the two-goal deficit.

Despite being played out of position, the Frenchman made the role his own, and instead of being pinned back by Spurs’ attacking flair, it was in fact the 22-year-old who forced the hosts back with his ventures forward.

It was only the second time in Tuchel’s tenure at Chelsea that the German has opted to play with a back four, and with Sarr showing he can deliver against high-quality opposition, it could mean that his manager veers to a change of formation more often.

The Chelsea manager was pleased with the performance of Sarr and explained the decision behind starting the Frenchman as a left-back.

“Malang Sarr has been hugely involved in the last few games, he is fit and we thought he has the strength and ability to defend man-on-man.

“We wanted to use his left foot when we were in a back four to build up play but we tried to defend as a five without the ball.”

Sarr joined Chelsea in 2020 but was immediately loaned out to Porto for the remainder of the season where he made 19 appearances for the Portuguese giants.

He then rejoined the Blues’ squad for pre-season and was kept as a rotational squad player after Chelsea sold Kurt Zouma to West Ham.

He has been used sparingly by Tuchel this season having made only eight appearances all season with only one of those appearances coming in the Premier League.

Yet when given the opportunity, Sarr has shown he is more than capable of making an impact with a superb performance against Brentford and solid showings in the domestic cup competitions.

With Chilwell, Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah all out and the defensive injuries mounting up for Chelsea, the French defender will look to hold down a more regular spot in the team and make the position his own by continuing in his rich vein of form.

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