As Theresa May’s authority remorselessly drains, suitable analogies are increasingly hard to find. Enter Maurizio Sarri. After the Chelsea manager’s side were beaten 6-0 by Manchester City in the Premier League on 10 February, the restless maverick contrived to make the 2019 Carabao Cup final a forgettable one.
For 119 long, goalless minutes, he succeeded. A confident Chelsea smothered the attacking line that had so effortlessly humiliated them in Manchester, and only lost on penalties. But all anybody will remember is the 120th minute, when Sarri tried and failed to substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga, his 24-year-old goalkeeper, before turning puce, tearing open his tracksuit and marching down the Wembley tunnel.
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