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Five reasons to look forward to game week one in the Premier League

By Karl Harrington

SINGAPORE - JULY 28: Unai Emery head coach of Arsenal sits during the International Champions Cup match between Arsenal and Paris Saint Germain at the National Stadium on July 28, 2018 in Singapore. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images for ICC)
SINGAPORE - JULY 28: Unai Emery head coach of Arsenal sits during the International Champions Cup match between Arsenal and Paris Saint Germain at the National Stadium on July 28, 2018 in Singapore. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images for ICC) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 18: Chelsea Unveil New Head Coach Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge on July 18, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 18: Chelsea Unveil New Head Coach Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge on July 18, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /

Finally, the Premier League is back! Here are five things to look forward to in its opening weekend.

1. The birth of Sarrisimo

Chelsea fans shouldn’t read too much into last Sunday’s result. The blues were missing a host of big names in a game that is viewed as little more than a glorified friendly. Moreover, new manager Maurizio Sarri has had little time to integrate his philosophy, dubbed Sarrisimo, which bears scant resemblance to that advocated by his predecessor, Antonio Conte.

Sarrisimo, described by L’Équipe as ‘vertical tiki-taka,’ involves high volumes of lateral passes while moving up the field as quickly as possible.

Last season Sarri’s Napoli played the most aesthetically pleasing football in Italy, if not Europe, topping the Serie A charts for chances created, shots, and passes.

The £50 million signing of Jorginho will be key in the quest to mirror such football at Stamford Bridge. According to Tifo, the midfielder completed the most passes in Serie A three years in succession averaging 99 passes per game.

The orchestrator will primarily station himself in front of Chelsea’s defense allowing the team to build from the back. Cesc Fabregas, a kindred spirit, will play advanced to the left with N’golo Kante to the right. The latter will be vital to an aggressive high press as Chelsea will seek to win the ball back as quickly as possible.

Sarri deploys an attacking trident which should suit talisman Eden Hazard. Wingers such as Lorenzo Insinge and Dries Mertens flourished in the system at Napoli and the prospect of playing under the manager has clearly interested Hazard enough to stick around.

Sarri will look to bring in a few new faces before the window shuts on Thursday but already has the levels of squad depth that he craved at Napoli.

The project requires a well-drilled cohesive unit and will need something not commonly found in the Chelsea boardroom: patience. But Sarri is probably the manager most similar to Pep Guardiola in terms of style and should things click into place they could offer the Catalan some genuine competition at the top.

Either way it will be fascinating to watch Chelsea’s season unfold and it begins on Saturday at Huddersfield.

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