Maurizio Sarri has laughed off a suggestion that his half-time team talks could be a cause of Chelsea losing their way during matches.
The Blues were coasting against Slavia Prague in the Europa League quarter-final before the visitors scored two early second-half goals and had Sarri’s side looking worried.
It continued a pattern under Sarri of Chelsea switching off during games.
And the head coach was asked at his post-match press conference if perhaps his half-time team talks were a reason.
He joked: “I can try without going in the dressing room at half-time. I can try to solve the problem like this.”
On a serious note, Sarri admitted his frustration that Chelsea were once again guilty of lapses in concentration.
“We started very badly in the second half. We need a solution,” he said.
“We need to solve this problem, because in the last 10 matches we started like in this match, so it’s a big problem.
“Probably at the end of the first half we thought that we were qualified. But against these opponents, it wasn’t true.
“I have never seen something like that in the last 20 years. We did something wrong in the second half in the first 10-15 minutes.
“At half-time I told them that the target was to start with the same application and with the same attention, but we didn’t do it.
“But of course we are happy, because to get in a European semi-final is not very easy.”