COMMENT: So d'ya think we can all calm down now? Y'know, the 'he's killin' Kante' claims? Can those pulling apart Maurizio Sarri's decision-making now wind their necks in after Saturday at the Bridge...?

...well, don't hold your breath. And to be fair, Sarri and his Chelsea players shouldn't waste a second on responding to the doubters in the studio. They did that on the pitch - and then some. No matter the claims of Pep Guardiola, he knows his Manchester City can have no complaints about Chelsea's 2-0 triumph. Thoughts of an unbeaten season now gone. As is, for the moment, the Premier League leadership.

But Saturday was about Chelsea. Sarri's Chelsea. A manager whom 24 hours earlier was having to - ridiculously - respond to questions about his job and future.

"What happens if Guardiola had no time at City?" replied Sarri about feeling the pressure, "Maybe the best team in the world wasn't City in the last year."

It was maddening. Snowballing from a moronic argument about Sarri's use of N'Golo Kante and Jorginho in his midfield. You don't need your coaching badges to recognise Kante couldn't play the quarterback role Sarri wants from Jorginho. Just as the Italy midfielder isn't in that position to fetch-and-carry as Kante does like no other. The whole debate was mindless.

Arrigo Sacchi, of AC Milan and Italy fame, put it best last week, "Kante is a great player; extraordinary in his generosity, for the number of times he steals the ball but when it comes to game construction, he is not as bright as Jorginho."

That really should've been enough. Yet on it went. Until Saturday...

It was Sarri who stopped City. Not Jurgen Klopp. Nor Mauricio Pochettino. But the Italian. And with a patched up team. One win in four. No striker to begin with. A fitness and form cloud hanging over Marcos Alonso. And the Kante debate raging. Yet, Sarri still managed to engineer this vital triumph.

Going into the game, Guardiola declared the corresponding fixture last season as his team's most significant result. Victory at Stamford Bridge gave City the shot of self-belief needed to go on and win the title.

For Sarri, this win does have a similar tenor. Though more to do with his progress in the Premier League, than the team he is trying to put together. In Guardiola's case, last season - just as this term - he has never been turned down by his board. This is his team. The players he has requested have been added - or at least a near enough alternative. That's in contrast to Sarri, who still managed to overcome the team he dubbed "the best in the world" without his trademark centre-forward on the pitch.

It's old hat now, but worth repeating. Particularly after Saturday, with Olivier Giroud on the bench and Alvaro Morata dumped to the stands. Sarri wanted Gonzalo Higuain last summer. Before he made his way to AC Milan, he spoke to Sarri about leaving Juventus for London. They both wanted it to happen. Only for someo-..., let's have the Argentine explain all in his own words: "The estimation I have for Sarri is not new. But the only person who wanted me at Chelsea was Sarri while here (Milan) they all wanted me."

You hope those pushing back last summer will be rethinking that approach today. If Pep wants a player, Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano will do all they can to make it happen. If it's good enough for City, it should be good enough for Chelsea and Sarri - especially after Saturday's result.

But that's not to say all is lost for Morata. He'll be down today. The Spaniard has admitted last season's form woes left him as low as at anytime in his career. But Sarri has made it clear - and publicly - if a player is willing to work with him to improve, the door will never be closed.

But it may be more of a squeeze to get through. Sarri wants a centre-forward. A finisher. From Gonzalo Higuain to Massimo Maccarone. Sarri has counted on a player up top capable of converting the chances his midfield creates. At the moment, he's not getting that from Giroud nor Morata - yet still managing to find a way to stay top four competitive.

Saturday was Sarri's victory. The false No9. The power and height of their set-pieces. Sarri found a way to out-think and outplay Guardiola and City.

For those inside the boardroom, just imagine where he can take Chelsea if you actually give him what he wants...