Chelsea will be relying on Disasi to help thwart Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Chelsea centre-back Axel Disasi could be exploited by Liverpool in Sunday's Carabao Cup final as he doesn't want the ball, claims Tim Sherwood.
Disasi was praised for his heroic defensive performance in the Blues' 1-1 Premier League draw at Manchester City last weekend, but Sherwood has been more critical of the French international.
The former Tottenham manager even made a bizarre reference to the 25-year-old having "a leather allergy."
Axel Disasi joined Chelsea from Monaco for £38.5m last summer (Image credit: Getty Images)
Speaking ahead of the Wembley showdown, the first domestic final of the season, Sherwood told Sky Sports:
"I think Chelsea’s best chance [of beating Liverpool] is to defend their box –pretty much what they did against Man City.
"Disasi is ok doing that. When you’re asking him to defend on the halfway line, that’s when he struggles. He cannot handle the ball; he’s got a leather allergy. His turning problem... He doesn’t want the football.
"He wants to defend the box; he wants to head it; he wants to put his body on the line. That’s great if you’re defending the six-yard box or the 18-yard box – but if you’re, Chelsea you cannot do that. You have to defend halfway line; you have to find a partner who he’s comfortable with."
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Disasi has made 32 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea, scoring twice (Image credit: Getty Images)
Sherwood was particularly sceptical of Disasi's chances against the likes of Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez. He continued:
"When you’re asked to get up on the halfway line and Mo Salah is running at you and Nunez is chasing you down…let’s see how he does [on Sunday]. I hope he does well. I hope he’s got a bit of confidence because it looked like he loved celebrating a little blocked cross."
Perhaps fortunately for Disasi, Salah and Nunez are both major injury doubts for the final...
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
