Maurizio Sarri criticises ‘dangerous’ Dynamo Kiev pitch
Maurizio Sarri fears for the safety of his Chelsea players after branding Dynamo Kievs pitch dangerous and a disaster.Sarris squad trained at Kievs Olympic Stadium on Wednesday evening ahead of Thursdays Europa League last-16 second leg.The Italian could be seen pointing at the playing surface as he spoke with members of his staff and feels it has hazardous bobbles, which are possibly caused by the freezing Ukraine winter and could result in injuries. Asked his thoughts on the pitch, the head coach replied: A disaster.The pitch is not good. I think that its dangerous, really dangerous.Its really dangerous to play any football here in this moment, and I think its really very dangerous for injuries.But the situation is this. So we have to accept the situation.I dont know the reason probably the winter. I played here two years ago (with Napoli) and the pitch was wonderful.Training time in Kiev! #DYNCHE pic.twitter.com/mZgDfRq6QI Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 13, 2019The stadium was the venue for last seasons Champions League final and also hosted two of Englands matches at Euro 2012.Sarri, whose side lead the tie 3-0 following last weeks first leg in London, also criticised UEFA.He thinks the governing body should be doing more to ensure pitches are in an adequate condition, rather than being consumed by more trivial matters.We have arrived safely in Ukraine! The Blues will now head directly to the Kiev Olympic Stadium for training! #DYNCHE pic.twitter.com/NnSVqR2h7i Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 13, 2019I cannot understand why UEFA havent really given much attention to everything, he continued.You have to present the player list at a certain minute, and then we have to play in such a bad pitch.Blues forward Willian, who scored a superb free-kick in first leg, shared his managers concerns and feels the team will have to be cautious .That's all from Maurizio for now. Willian will speak to the media next#DYNCHE pic.twitter.com/Tw0YWBrjiA Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 13, 2019We know that we have to take care of ourselves tomorrow. Sometimes thats not possible, said the Brazilian.Sometimes it happens, you get injuries. But I hope, tomorrow, we just go there and play well and win this game.I think weve played on pitches that werent the best as well, so we have to adapt.Chelsea have a fully-fit squad for the game, aside from striker Gonzalo Higuain who did not travel after suffering illness since Sundays Premier League draw against Wolves.That result, which was secured by Eden Hazards late goal, halted a run of three successive wins in all competitions to dent the clubs hopes of a top-four finish.Maurizio Sarri is unconcerned about his future (Steven Paston/PA)Sarri again faced questions about his long-term future but the 60-year-old said he was unconcerned about his position.Asked whether he will still be in charge at Stamford Bridge next season, he replied: I dont know. I dont mind at the moment.For me, now, the next match is very important, and the next match against Everton.For me, the next season at the moment is too far (away).I want to be focused on these matches, first of all.(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
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