Malang Sarr

[Yeboii 1,844]

According to twitter he did well. Shut down Mahrez, which isn't easy.

[NikkiCFC 7,950]

3 hours ago, DANILA said:

Did anyone watch that can give an opinion on how he was tonight?

Sarr played LCB in 3 at the back system. Was solid. He and Guehi are same height 182cm and Guehi also plays same position for Swansea. Maybe too short for CB? If one comes good great for us, otherwise we will get some money because they did not cost us at all.

[killer1257 3,282]

Sarr played LCB in 3 at the back system. Was solid. He and Guehi are same height 182cm and Guehi also plays same position for Swansea. Maybe too short for CB? If one comes good great for us, otherwise we will get some money because they did not cost us at all.

Sarr is one cm smaller than Thiago Silva.
Sarr only wants to play CB, it seems. Not interested in LB position

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[Azul 1,615]

He just conceded a dumb penalty. Not looking good for Porto so far.

[Vesper 28,802]

On 03/11/2020 at 9:12 PM, Azul said:

He just conceded a dumb penalty. Not looking good for Porto so far.

Do you mean he is not looking good sounds like it) or that the outcome in general does not look good FOR Porto?

Also, how much have you seen him play this year? Very interested!

[Vesper 28,802]

'What a player!' - Chelsea fans send defiant Malang Sarr message to Frank Lampard

Chelsea loanee Malang Sarr played a key role in helping Porto hold Manchester City to a goalless draw in the Champions League

https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/players/malang-sarr-chelsea-porto-transfers-19382293

Manchester City dropped points in the Champions League for the first time this season as they were held to a goalless draw by Portuguese giants Porto this evening.

Despite City believing they had done enough to seal a fifth win from five group games with eight minutes to go when Gabriel Jesus found the back of the net, VAR chalked the goal off for offside, meaning Pep Guardiola's troops were forced to settle for a point.

Though VAR was a major talking point for the second night in a row, after it was heavily criticised in the aftermath of West Ham United's 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Monday evening, some of Chelsea's supporters found a different topic to discuss: centre-back Malang Sarr.

The defender produced a solid defensive showing to help Porto record a clean sheet and keep the likes of Raheem Sterling, Ferran Torres and Phil Foden at bay.

As well as that, Sarr also helped the Primeira Liga outfit extend their unbeaten run in the Champions League to four matches.

The 21-year-old Frenchman was one of seven big-name signings to join Chelsea in a memorable summer transfer window but the club felt it would aid his development if he was sent out on loan to gain more first-team experience.

In early-October, the former Nice youngster was snapped up by Porto, joining the Portuguese outfit on a season-long loan.

Since arriving at the Estadio do Dragao, Sarr, who is a France Under-21 international, has racked up seven appearances in all competitions for Porto, helping the club secure five clean sheets.

With that kind of form in his sails, and his age suggesting that he will only get better and better, Chelsea fans have expressed their desires to see him handed a chance to impress at Stamford Bridge upon his return to the club next summer, with one supporter suggesting that he "can't wait" until he pulls on a Chelsea shirt.

Here is how some supporters have reacted to Sarr's performance on Twitter...

Some fans have been left that impressed by Sarr's performance that they are baffled as to why the Blues are being linked with adding another centre-back to their ranks with Sarr already on the club's books.

Recently, Bayern Munich defender David Alaba has been closely linked with a switch to west London as his contract at Bayern is poised to draw to a close next summer.

West Ham and England ace Declan Rice, too, continues to be linked with a move across the capital, with some suggesting that he could be transformed into a centre-back because of Frank Lampard's extensive midfield options.

[Jase 43,479]

https://theathletic.com/news/Chelsea-malang-sarr-porto-champions-league/t9DMOyk7eMy1

Sarr can play against us for Porto.

[King Kante 1,476]

On 25/03/2021 at 09:14, Jason said:

https://theathletic.com/news/Chelsea-malang-sarr-porto-champions-league/t9DMOyk7eMy1

Sarr can play against us for Porto.

He is currently their 4th choice CB for their three. I don't think this is up their with Tibo v AM in 2014. 

[Vesper 28,802]

Could Malang Sarr come back to haunt Chelsea before he has even played for them?

https://theathletic.com/2491351/2021/04/02/could-malang-sarr-come-back-to-haunt-Chelsea-before-he-has-even-played-for-them/

Chelsea’s first Champions League knockout stage victory since 2014 has brought about another situation with echoes of seven years ago: just as with Thibaut Courtois when he’d been borrowed by Atletico Madrid, there is nothing to prevent loanee Malang Sarr playing for Porto against his parent club in either leg of the quarter-final tie between the teams later this month.

Unlike the Courtois situation, Chelsea are not inclined to kick up a stink this time; in fact, some at the club could be forgiven for hoping Sarr gets the experience, while many fans would welcome a closer look at a 22-year-old who has intrigued them since signing on a free transfer from Nice last summer.

Porto have not yet done for Sarr what Atletico almost immediately did for Courtois. He arrived late in the club’s pre-season preparations, slotting in behind the 38-year-old Pepe and former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba in coach Sergio Conceicao’s centre-back pecking order, and has been unable to force his way through to become a regular. Six of his 19 appearances came in a streak of starts throughout November and early December, punctuated by his most impressive display of the campaign in a goalless draw at home to Manchester City in the group stage.

More recently, he played his part in Porto’s shock win over Juventus in the round of 16, coming on with just over an hour on the clock in the second leg in Turin and mucking in as his 10-man team kept the Italian giants at bay. But there have also been lowlights — most notably presenting the ball to former Chelsea man Lucas Piazon with a poor attempted clearance in the lead-up to Braga’s second goal in a 3-2 defeat in the Portuguese Cup. That error led to a reprimand from Conceicao and, perhaps not coincidentally, Diogo Leite has recently displaced him as the coach’s preferred back-up to Pepe and Mbemba.

But few who tracked Sarr’s rise to prominence in France would write off his chances of helping Porto hurt Chelsea in Seville, or of proving himself capable of one day shining at Stamford Bridge.

His story indicates a young footballer with ambition and intelligence to match his considerable talent, coupled with the willingness to make hard decisions to further his career.

---

Wearing a Baltimore Ravens NFL jersey emblazoned with their star quarterback Lamar Jackson’s name and number and drenched in the Nice sunshine, Sarr’s facial expression veered from pride and joy to sadness as he delivered an emotional goodbye to his boyhood club.

“Football’s done a lot for me,” he said in a four-minute farewell video posted on the club’s social media channels. “I’ve realised a dream by playing for Nice, been able to buy a house for my family, something I’m most proud about. I always wanted to play here. My dad was a supporter and would go to games in the stadium.

“I joined the club at six and played in the youth teams, in the academy. I knew all the coaches, everyone around the club. I saw the changes in the club, the growth, the transformation. I watched it grow from the inside. I was upset when I found out the season had been cancelled (the 2019-20 Ligue 1 campaign did not restart after lockdown last spring) and I couldn’t say goodbye.

“This is my club. The club where I began it all. The club where I lived. My hometown club. It’ll always be a club in my heart. One chapter has closed, but another is opening.”

Sarr had plenty of opportunities to remain at Nice. Former president Gauthier Ganaye made several offers to extend the defender’s contract up until the summer of 2019, when reports of a takeover by INEOS — the company headed by one-time Chelsea suitor Sir Jim Ratcliffe — began to circulate. The ownership uncertainty did nothing to convince Sarr that Nice could match his ambitions, while Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Leipzig were two of the clubs in Germany who signalled their interest in him.

“I did not feel like the club could allow me to continue to grow as a footballer, so I had to look elsewhere,” he said. “What was brought to me was not at the level that I wanted to achieve. I never felt the former owners or board had the same desire or ambition as me. We weren’t on the same wavelength.”

INEOS did not formally assume control until the final days of the summer transfer window. Sarr, who had made enthusiastic noises about learning German and testing himself in the Bundesliga, did not get his move there. Nor did he show any fresh interest in extending a contract which only had a year left to run. Ratcliffe had brought more money to the club, but ambition off the pitch had only ever been part of the thought process steering Sarr away from Nice.

The conditions that were to eventually lead to his departure existed almost from the moment he made his senior debut for Nice, aged 17, at home to Rennes on the opening day of the 2016-17 Ligue 1 season. With no name on the back of his shirt, as he was yet to sign professional terms, Sarr scored the only goal of the game — a back-post header from a Jean Michael Seri free kick — before paying tribute to the victims of the terror attack on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais on Bastille Day a month earlier.

He had started the match in his preferred position as the left-sided centre-back alongside Paul Baysse, a journeyman Ligue 1 defender. But nine days later Nice signed Dante from Wolfsburg on a free transfer. The Brazil international and Champions League winner, also a left-sided centre-back, quickly became the rock on which coach Lucien Favre built his defence.

Sarr signed a four-year professional deal with Nice in the November but despite feeling strongly that his long-term development would be best served with regular minutes as the left-sided centre-back, he was often deployed at left-back to accommodate Dante, who established himself as a team leader and was later named club captain. That remained the case when Patrick Vieira replaced Favre as coach in the summer of 2018. Many of his best performances for both coaches came on the left of a back three, with Dante central.

Along the way, Sarr was already planning for a future outside of France, throwing himself into learning English by watching US sports — he is known to be a huge basketball fan — and TV shows without dubbing or subtitles. By the time Nice signed Kasper Dolberg from Ajax in the summer of 2019 he was fluent and able to take the Dane under his wing, providing friendly support when he was robbed in the city, contracted COVID-19 and struggled with injuries.

Sarr’s decision to run down his contract was far from painless. Nice were furious at the prospect of losing a valuable young asset for nothing and he made just 19 appearances in Ligue 1 in 2019-20, his first-team minutes more than halved from the previous campaign — a situation not helped by the early curtailment of the French football season.

Widely considered a wasted year of development, it did at least buy him control of his career destiny; Torino, Real Betis and Sampdoria all made formal approaches, while Monaco and Fulham made their interest known. Saint-Etienne also looked at him as a potential replacement for Leicester City-bound Wesley Fofana, but Chelsea’s offer carried the day.

---

The visit of Manchester City to Estadio do Dragao in December represented a double audition for Sarr: to impress Conceicao, but also Chelsea’s loan technical department. His contribution to Porto’s creditable clean sheet highlighted many of the attributes that first marked him out as a worthwhile development project, while also offering several reminders of the strides he is yet to make in his game.

Here, in the first three minutes, Sarr is marking Bernardo Silva as Raheem Sterling probes on the right flank:

Sterling darts infield but Sarr leaves Silva and steps up to clear the ball out to the left, where Oleksandr Zinchenko gathers it up.

When Zinchenko clips in his cross, Sarr has recovered his position in the heart of the Porto defence and heads it clear.

A few minutes later his aggressive instincts almost work against him. He steps out of Porto’s defensive line to confront a surging Sterling, which creates a pocket of space behind him…

…Sterling offloads the ball to Silva and races into the gap Sarr left, working himself into a crossing position. Anticipating the last-ditch sliding tackle from Sarr he tries to chop the ball behind him and draw a foul in the penalty area, but the Frenchman manages to clear the ball with his trailing leg and it goes out of play for a corner.

Sarr’s mobility is one of his most valuable assets at centre-back, and he puts it to good use later in the first half to track Sterling’s run as Phil Foden sizes up a through ball…

…which he is able to intercept and clear in one motion:

Sterling’s movement gave Porto problems throughout the match and he steals several yards on Sarr here, timing his run perfectly to break the offside trap and latch onto a floated Fernandinho pass…

…but on this occasion, Sarr recovers to poke out a leg and lift the ball over his own crossbar before Sterling can shoot:

Early in the second half, Sarr’s eagerness to commit himself in a one vs one situation against Ferran Torres almost costs Porto dearly. It begins with a race for the ball towards the byline…

…Torres manages to lose Sarr with one sharp turn and create several yards of space for a cross on his left foot, but he isn’t done…

…and so jinks again, using the momentum of Sarr’s recovery lunge against him to work a better opening on his stronger right foot. Fortunately for Porto, his cross is poor and Leite is able to clear it at the near post:

Sarr’s most anxious moment was just prior to the hour mark. The sequence begins with him in a good position to react to Sterling’s run and deny him an easy route to connect to the searching diagonal pass Foden is preparing to hit:

As the ball arcs around the back of the Porto defence, he appears in a good position to block Sterling and get to it first…

…but instead he allows Sterling to wriggle past him, take the ball in stride and work himself into a one-on-one shooting chance. It should be a goal, but Agustin Marchesin manages to do just enough to block the shot and then smother the rebound:

A few minutes later, Sarr goes some way towards redeeming himself, standing tall to block a hard, goal-bound shot from Silva after the ball drops to the City midfielder in the penalty area:

Porto were reasonably good value for their clean sheet and Sarr was a significant contributor to that success — even if his lapses hinted at why Conceicao did not hesitate to restore his preferred centre-back pairing when Pepe had returned to full fitness.

---

“The loan was part of the plan (Chelsea) outlined to me when I signed,” Sarr said in an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe last month. “I had to be honest with myself: my last season at Nice finished in March (when the league was curtailed), so I was never going to impose myself straight away at Chelsea. This was a perfect solution to the issue as I wanted to have a season at a big club like Porto under my belt so that I’d be better placed to make an impression and do well at a club like Chelsea later on.”

That plan was echoed by Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia when the signing of Sarr was officially announced last August. “The opportunity to sign Malang was one we could not miss,” she told the club’s official website. “He is a tremendous prospect and we will be monitoring him closely during his loan period, hoping he will soon be back at Chelsea.”

Just how soon that will be is still an open question.

Chelsea face plenty of contract decisions about the defenders currently in Thomas Tuchel’s first-team squad in the coming months, and the long-term security offered by Sarr — he signed a five-year contract last summer — could provide a welcome element of squad certainty, even if it is hard to envision him immediately walking into a defence that has conceded two goals in the last two months.

One thing beyond doubt is that Chelsea believe in the same potential that made Nice so annoyed to be losing Sarr last summer.

They will just be hoping he fulfils it to their long-term benefit, rather than their short-term cost over the two legs in Seville.

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

Apparently completely failed at Porto and will come back here. Not a problem, so far he only made us money and will do so again if we find another loan for him. Or maybe he has changed his mind and is now ready to be backup at leftback.

[ulvhedin 507]

On 24/05/2021 at 02:27, Magic Lamps said:

Apparently completely failed at Porto and will come back here. Not a problem, so far he only made us money and will do so again if we find another loan for him. Or maybe he has changed his mind and is now ready to be backup at leftback.

Question remains whether he is good enough for backup

[King Kante 1,476]

On 24/05/2021 at 01:27, Magic Lamps said:

Apparently completely failed at Porto and will come back here. Not a problem, so far he only made us money and will do so again if we find another loan for him. Or maybe he has changed his mind and is now ready to be backup at leftback.

He will be loaned again. Probably to France, Holland or Germany this time I would expect. 

[Vesper 28,802]

12 hours ago, ulvhedin said:

Question remains whether he is good enough for backup

I used to think so, not so much now

he really did have a poor year other than some bright minutes in the CL

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Vesper 28,802]

Malang Sarr’s 23-minute Chelsea baptism of fire

https://theathletic.com/2886882/2021/10/17/malang-sarrs-23-minute-Chelsea-baptism-of-fire/

There was a moment deep into stoppage time at the Brentford Community Stadium when Malang Sarr and Mathias Jorgensen found themselves face to face in the penalty area. Play had been halted for Reece James, prone on the turf, to receive treatment as Chelsea clung to their slender lead with time ticking down on the home side’s onslaught. Sarr, frazzled by the sheer ferocity of it all, glanced up to find the Dane, nicknamed Zanka, towering over him.

All he could do was smile. Then offer a joke, a clap of hands, a pat on the back and, finally, a despairing shake of the head which suggested his playful plea – presumably something along the lines of, “Just give me a break, won’t you?” – had been dismissed out of hand. As Jorgensen retreated to the touchline and prepared to hurl yet another long throw deep into the visitors’ box, the Frenchman puffed out his cheeks and steeled himself to repel one last wave of attacks.

He looked lost as the ball was flung in, deceived by the flight and momentarily dizzied as the mess of bodies halted the delivery. It was to Sarr’s immense credit that, when Jorgensen collected and whipped in a more conventional cross seconds later, he had recovered his composure sufficiently to wrestle passage in front of Ivan Toney and nod the ball back whence it came. It was rugged. It was raw. But, on that occasion, it was effective.

Brentford was quite the baptism for the young centre-half.

The maelstrom to which he was subjected in those wonderfully frenetic, breathless last 23 minutes on Saturday evening will have been an education. Next time he will know better what to expect. Chelsea, moreover, will have learned plenty about their under-used defender from seeing him strain to preserve this unlikely clean sheet to maintain their position on the top of the table.

Sarr is a talent with more than 100 Ligue 1 games for OGC Nice under his belt. Chelsea secured the France Under-21 international under freedom of contract and sent him to Porto last term, a player of promise commanding a €2 million loan fee and initially featuring in the first-team picture at either centre-half or left-back. He began four of the Portuguese club’s Champions League group games last autumn and played the last 58 minutes of the decisive second leg of the knockout tie against Juventus which saw the Italians eliminated. He is not lacking in experience.

But this was his Premier League debut and, one League Cup appearance against Aston Villa aside, the first time he had been thrust into the limelight as a Chelsea player. Thomas Tuchel had been denied Thiago Silva – quarantining after international duty with Brazil – and the injured Antonio Rudiger. The head coach had worked with Sarr over the previous fortnight while others were away and had been impressed by his attitude and energy.

When it came to selecting a team for the fixture across west London, he felt asking Cesar Azpilicueta or James to deputise centrally risked too much disruption. Instead, Tuchel trusted Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah – himself a novice with only four previous top-flight appearances – to quell the hosts’ threat with the maturing Andreas Christensen at their side.

That was a show of faith and, for 73 minutes, it appeared well-judged.

Combative and aggressive, Sarr discomforted Toney from the outset. He read the game well and worked slickly with Ben Chilwell at his side, the left-back covering when his centre-half ventured into midfield to repel the odd lofted Brentford pass. There was a burst of pace to extricate himself from difficulty, but he did not make a real mistake until mistiming a header and almost liberating Toney 10 minutes into the second half. He sent Frank Onyeka sprawling, matched his former France Under-20s team-mate Bryan Mbeumo for pace, and shepherded the ball out of play with ease while Chelsea were dominant. It all appeared relatively comfortable, even against opponents who had made hay against Arsenal and Liverpool in these parts.

Then, in those last 17 minutes and the six that were tagged on as added time, everything changed.

That rousing game in Turin had proved Sarr’s last for Sergio Conceicao’s senior side. He ended his year at Porto in the B team, the last few months of his loan marked by eight appearances in a second-string striving to avoid relegation, and a car crash close to the club’s training ground which left him unhurt but his Mercedes a crumpled heap. A promising start had petered out. Maybe he was a victim of his own versatility, a dip in form, or merely a club policy to use seniors to ensure the reserves were not demoted. Regardless, Porto had little interest in renewing a loan, or exploring a permanent transfer, once their one-year option had expired. In that context, his late toils at Brentford might also have been anticipated.

On a superficial level, those frantic late exchanges actually enhanced the impression of his performance on debut as a whole. He summoned 10 clearances, the most by any Chelsea player in a league game to date this season. The same could be said of his six interceptions, two of which came amid the hosts’ incessant pressure. Yet scrutinise the exchanges from the 73rd minute, when he was pinned in the six-yard box by Pontus Jansson and left a bystander as Toney forced the outstanding Edouard Mendy into the first of a series of fine saves, and a truer picture emerges.

Suddenly he and Chilwell were confused, disconcerted by the threat posed down the flank by the recently introduced substitute Saman Ghoddos, with the pair increasingly swamped by runners on that side of the pitch. Sarr’s positioning became muddled. As those passes were launched forward he was caught too square-on, which makes it harder to react, and was constantly exposed by Marcus Forss, another flung on by the home side ostensibly to unsettle the previously imperious Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Space opened up between Sarr and Christensen into which Mbeumo sprinted to strike the post. Even punts, from Forss or even David Raya from deep, forever targeted the channel between Sarr and Chilwell. It all left the Frenchman panicked.

And then came Zanka’s throws. There was a barrage over that last quarter, all propelled from roughly the same spot on the touchline deep inside Chelsea territory, with Jansson, as a makeshift striker, an obvious target dwarfing Sarr in the six-yard box and no Romelu Lukaku to help force them clear. Jansson revelled in pushing and shoving the younger man off the ball, seeking to unsettle him further as they jostled for position. Sarr did not react. In truth, when the onslaught was at its height, around seven minutes from time, he looked utterly drained. “They were asking for the ball deep all the time, running everywhere, fighting for each and every ball,” he offered post-match. “It was a really tough challenge.”

The best opportunities were eked out in the zone he patrolled. He could not quite leap to repel Toney’s cross seven minutes from the end and, with Chilwell drawn infield by Forss, Ghoddos was free to collect and spit another shot at goal. In the confusion that followed Mendy’s save, Sarr air-kicked at a loose ball and only Chalobah’s goal-line clearance denied Christian Norgaard. Mendy, the adrenalin pumping and his right glove clamped to the back of his team-mate’s head, duly bellowed reminders of duties and the need to maintain concentration into Sarr’s ear. The encouragement bordered on an admonishment.

Jansson’s excellent chance moments later again stemmed from indecision between Chilwell and Sarr, the pair bypassed by Ethan Pinnock’s nod back. Yet, by then, each spin in search of the ball seemed marginally off the pace, each reaction slightly dulled, as if the youngster had been disorientated by the sudden flurry of crosses fizzing across the box.

He was the first to embrace Mendy on the final whistle. “I did everything I could to help the team and keep the clean sheet,” he added. That he had, and he should take heart from the reality it rarely feels as brutal as this and still this team departed unbreached. His efforts went appreciated by the coaching staff as the players trooped off, Hilario engulfing him in a bear-hug en route. The defender wore a look of vague disbelief.

Tuchel would have preferred more experienced personnel to withstand that kind of bombardment. He had pushed for Jules Kounde’s summer arrival, only to end up frustrated with Sevilla’s valuation of the France international being too high for even Chelsea to justify. “In these moments, it helps if you have Toni (Rudiger) or Thiago in there with their experience, winning decisive challenges, to calm the game down,” said the Chelsea head coach. “Or, with Thiago, the game understanding of a first touch to escape the pressure and maybe create counter-attacks and score a second.

“But we trust the guys who played. They are young. If you don’t play, you can’t get experience. They did really well for the first 70 minutes. About the last 20 minutes, we need to talk about where we can do better. There’s always room to improve.”

This may be a one-off. Thiago should be back for Malmo in midweek. The hope is Rudiger will not be too far behind, so Tuchel may not have to risk starting two relative novices in his back three again any time soon. Realistically, Sarr may not begin another match until Southampton visit in the League Cup later this month. But at least Chelsea know better now what the 22-year-old has to offer.

He will have benefited from his experience enduring that late blitz at Brentford.

[robsblubot 3,504]

While I also saw interesting things from the player (as well as Chalobah), I also saw big problems with the way they were unable to help the team keep possession, and instead of finding a pass, opted to hoof it upfield immediately handing the ball back to the opposition, which in turn increased the pressure on us. Along with Mendy heroics, shots hitting the post were also a result of that relentless pressure.

I think much of it was nerves, but also lack of confidence. It takes a lot of confidence to look for a pass under pressure, or even attempt to dribble past a player so close to your own goal, but that's what it takes at this level. Either these players, at some point, show the skill and confidence to do that, or we will find someone who can, and that's why Zouma is no longer at Chelsea.

[Vesper 28,802]

Get him the fuck off the team. He more than likely fucked up our CL already.

[OneMoSalah 8,778]

8 hours ago, Vesper said:

Get him the fuck off the team. He more than likely fucked up our CL already.

Would say this is pretty much a huge huge huge overreaction, especially to say he’s fucked our CL up already when he’s only played one game this season in it.

People seem to forget we lost to Juventus basically full strength which if we won we would of topped the group.