David Luiz plays down Sarri strop & Higuain spat ahead of Chelsea’s Europa League win

David Luiz has played down Maurizio Sarri’s training strop ahead of the Europa League final and insisted that his own row with Gonzalo Higuain was merely a show of passion.

The Blues’ build-up to a meeting with Arsenal saw them generate some unwelcome headlines.

Sarri was visibly upset by something as he put his players through their paces in Baku, while Luiz was involved in a spat with a fellow South American.

Chelsea were far from divided when the action got underway, as they swept to a 4-1 win over Premier League rivals and a major piece of continental silverware.

Luiz claims there were never any issues inside the camp, with Sarri’s apparent show of petulance being taken out of context.

The Brazil international defender told the Blues’ official website: “I think the guys watching didn’t analyse well.

“We just had some things during the training, this is normal, and then Maurizio was angry because he could not make the set-piece because those guys were there watching.

“That’s why he was angry, and then the media mix up a lot of things.”

Luiz added on his exchange with Argentine striker Higuain: “This is normal, in the game everybody saw the spirit of the team and also not just me and Gonzalo, everybody around Chelsea, everybody is important, and Gonzalo is my friend.”

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Chelsea’s victory in Azerbaijan allowed them to end the 2018-19 campaign on a high.

They were able to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League, but suffered penalty shootout heartache in the Carabao Cup final.

Questions are now being asked of Maurizio Sarri’s ongoing presence, with Goal revealing that he wants to return to Italy at Juventus, while Eden Hazard is expected to leave for Real Madrid.

There may be plenty of hurdles to come, but Luiz believes the club have already cleared plenty.

A man who has committed to a new contract at Stamford Bridge said: “We had some ups and downs but we learned a lot.

“We improved a lot during the season and I think we finished very, very well.

“We lost on penalties in the Carabao Cup final against City, being the best side, we qualified straight away for the Champions League after Liverpool and Man City, because they did amazing we could not get them this season in the Premier League, and we won a big title in Europe.

“So I think Chelsea’s great.”