Chelsea vs Tottenham: Time for Blues to push on after responding to Maurizio Sarri criticism

Was Maurizio Sarri’s deconstruction of the mentality of his players at the Emirates a good thing? It is too early to say. But last night at Stamford Bridge provided the first data point to assess his big gamble. And it suggested that he was right.

Everyone was waiting to see how the Chelsea players would respond to Sarri saying that they were difficult to motivate. Would they go into their shell, wounded by the criticism, resentful of the implication, effectively proving Sarri right but also sinking his tenure? Or would they fight back, to show their character, proving Sarri’s analysis wrong, but bolstering his management?

The signs here were good. Chelsea played with intensity, focus and drive. No, they were not at their absolute best. They let Spurs back into the game. They did not take all of their chances. They let the game slip from their grasp. In the penalty shoot-out, they could easily have lost.

But despite all of that, this was still a world away from Arsenal on Saturday. It was a performance closer to Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat of Manchester City here back on 8 December, another when N'Golo Kante popped up with the crucial opener as Chelsea grabbed control of the game and started to play their football.

Sarri was certainly impressed with what he saw. Some of the old flair was back in how they attacked. “In the last three or four matches we had a problem with motivation, and the other problem was that the players stopped having fun on the pitch,” he explained. “Now with this this performance and result, we can find enthusiasm again.”

That improved mental application was more important even than the passage through to the final. “I think that in this match we played with another mind,” Sarri said. “With another motivation. With another determination.”

But while Sarri was pleased with what he saw here, the fighting spirit that had been missing in the past, he now had a new challenge for his players. Do it again. Not just in the big games that get you into a final, but in the smaller games with less on the line. Because that is next challenge for Chelsea, and a harder one. To show top motivation week after week after week.

“I think that they reacted really well tonight,” Sarri said. “I didn’t attack my players, I only said we had a problem. The reaction was really very good. I think that we need to have motivation with continuity now.”

Sarri is looking forward to the final, his shot at a first major trophy in management, a reunion with his friend and mentor Pep Guardiola. But he is smart enough to know that his Chelsea tenure will not be judged by winning the Carabao Cup. Finishing in the top four in the Premier League is far more important, and harder. And that means beating Bournemouth and Huddersfield Town in their next two low-profile league games before they go to the Etihad in the league.

If Chelsea drop more points in the league then their performances in the cups and the Europa League will cease to matter. Motivation for a game like this is far easier to come by than for a league game that feels like a foregone conclusion. No thoughts about the Wembley yet then. First they have Sheffield Wednesday at home in the FA Cup, nobody's idea of a classic but a game which they must not lose.

“The most important game will be the next, against Bournemouth,” Sarri insisted. “I am really very happy, to play a final at Wembley. It is very important for my players, for the club. But now, we have to think immediately to the next match, in the FA Cup. Then, I think, the most dangerous match will be Bournemouth.” But if they do not keep up these new standards, starting on Sunday, then the motivational questions will come back harder than ever.