Sarri blows top and storms out of Chelsea training session on eve of Europa League final
Not long after speaking of his "love" for his players, Maurizio Sarri made an animated exit from Chelsea's training session.
Maurizio Sarri dramatically stormed out of Chelsea's training session on the eve of the Europa League final in Azerbaijan.
The Italian angrily threw his hat to the ground and kicked it twice before heading down the tunnel at Baku Olympic Stadium, where the Blues meet Premier League rivals Arsenal on Wednesday night.
Higuaín and David Luiz spat in Baku
Sarri appeared to be responding to a clash between David Luiz and Gonzalo Higuaín. The pair exchanged words after on-loan Argentina international Higuaín caught the defender with a late challenge during a training drill. Though a seemingly innocuous tackle, defender David Luiz was left frustrated and former Napoli boss Sarri later showed his annoyance.
Journalists overstay 15-minunte media allocation
However, a Chelsea spokesman said: "Maurizio’s frustration displayed at the end of training was not related to any of his players, but was due to not being able to practise set-plays in the final 15 minutes of the hour-long training session as it remained open to media." Blues head coach Sarri, who has been linked with the vacancy at Juventus, had earlier spoken of his affection for the squad in a pre-match news conference. "At this moment I love them," he said. "I have 22 wonderful men, wonderful players, so I'm really very happy with them," he said.
Fuse blown
Sarri's reaction bore similarities to his behaviour during the EFL Carabao Cup final in February, the 60-year-old having appeared to contemplate storming off down the tunnel at Wembley before returning to the dugout following goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's refusal to be substituted.