Fulham vs Chelsea: Kepa Arrizabalaga controversy has united squad, insists under pressure Maurizio Sarri

Kepa was benched by Sarri for Chelsea’s 2-0 win over bitter rivals Tottenham in the Premier League on Wednesday

Maurizio Sarri believes Chelsea have emerged stronger from the fallout of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s refusal to be substituted in last weekend’s EFL Cup final defeat on penalties against Manchester City.

Kepa was benched by Sarri for Chelsea’s 2-0 win over bitter rivals Tottenham in the Premier League on Wednesday, one day after the club confirmed their £71.5m goalkeeper had apologised and been fined for publicly defying his head coach in extra time at Wembley.

Many feared Sarri’s authority had been fatally undermined by the incident, but the Italian – who is yet to decide whether he will restore Kepa to the Chelsea team for Sunday’s trip to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham – believes the reaction of his players proves otherwise.

“When there is a difficult situation, I think it’s very difficult for everybody,” Sarri said. “But it’s a big opportunity, also. You have to take that opportunity [to react]. Of course, it was really a very bad experience, but I think we can come out of this situation better than before.

“When there is a very difficult experience you can come out always different than before: better or worse. I think that, from this situation, we came out better.

“For the players, I think it was an experience useful for staying more united. Also for me, with my staff and players. We are more compact.”

Victory over Spurs breathed fresh life into Chelsea’s faltering challenge for a top-four finish in the Premier League, but they face another tricky assignment on Sunday away against a Fulham side who could be galvanised by the sacking of Claudio Ranieri and the appointment of Scott Parker as his interim replacement this week.

“I am really very happy with the last three matches because we had good performances,” Sarri added. “And also with the results. We lost a final only on penalties, but we played really a very good match. For our confidence, it was important to play at the same level against City after the match in the Premier League.

Maurizio Sarri on the touchline for Chelsea's win over Spurs (Getty)

“We still need consistency and still to continue, especially with the performances. The results are only a consequence – sometimes not, but in 95% of cases [they are].”

Parker revealed on Friday that amid the barrage of congratulatory messages he had received following Fulham’s decision to appoint him, legendary former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson got in touch to offer some tips on how to succeed in his first experience on the touchline.

Asked if he has any managerial advice for Parker, a smiling Sarri joked, “After the match,” before adding: “To take this job you have to love football, but you have to forget everything that is around football. I think so, otherwise it’s impossible to do this job.”

Sarri has plenty of sympathy for Ranieri’s plight, having been sacked himself several times over the course of his coaching career in Italy and endured near-constant speculation about his future at Chelsea in recent months.

He sees no reason why his friend and countryman cannot return to management better than ever. “I think that, for a coach, to be without work for a period is very important,” he insisted. “You can study, you can change something. It’s a very important period, I think.”

Thursday was a recovery day for the Chelsea players after their exertions against Tottenham but Sarri gave himself and his staff no such respite, analysing video to prepare for Fulham as well as for Europa League round-of-16 opponents Dynamo Kiev ahead of next week’s first leg at Stamford Bridge.

It’s just as well, then, that Sarri does not believe in the concept of ‘down time’. “No, because usually I don’t work,” he explained. “For me, it’s not work. I love football. So, for me, it’s not work.

“If, in the future, it is ‘only a job’ or work, I’ll have to stop.”