SARRI: LIVERPOOL ARE A STEP AHEAD

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has called on his players to improve, if they are to match the standard of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

The Italian spoke after the Blues were held to a goalless draw with West Ham United, meaning Liverpool’s 3-0 romp of Southampton was enough to keep Jurgen Klopp’s men at the top of the table, for the first time this season.

Chelsea travel to Anfield to face the Reds next weekend, but Sarri has explicitly stated that it could take at least a year for his squad to match the quality of their opponents.

“Liverpool are a step forward than us, we only started working together 35 or 40 days ago, so for us I think it’s a bit early," said the Italian, citing team chemistry as an issue.

Sunday’s opposition, the Hammers, had lost both of their fixtures at the London Stadium this season, but fought well to hold the Londoners to a point.

“We could have done better, we played very well in the last 20 minutes," Sarri said, “We knew West Ham are a good team, but we are not happy with the result."

Adding to the bosses woes were the blanks drawn by striker Olivier Giroud, the 59-year-old forced to substitute the Frenchman for the uninspired Alvaro Morata.

“In that moment West Ham were cutting out the pass, so I preferred to play Morata and his movement without the ball," Sarri added.

Chelsea face off with Liverpool next Saturday, at Anfield, in a top-of-the-table crunch clash, with the hosts’ perfect record up against its biggest test yet.