Chelsea midfielder Pedro has likened their play to former club Barcelona.

After being worn down by ­former boss Antonio Conte's safety-first approach, the shackles are off for Chelsea under fellow Italian Maurizio Sarri.

“The team is better than last season," Pedro told the Mirror. “This coach has a very good idea to press, to attack, to play, to have more ­players between the lines, to create chances, and to play with a lot of possession of the ball. This is very good.

“With Sarri we are running a lot but it is different because all the time you press really high.

“With Antonio, we were maybe more compact but we defended always in our own half.

“That means that when you recover the ball to attack, you have a very long way to the ­opposition goal. With Sarri, when you recover the ball you are in very good position to attack. You are close to the goal to score, to create chances.

“It is the most important thing and the most important ­difference from last season to this season. It is a very good change for the team. You can see it is ­better from the results we are getting.

“It is really the same idea as Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. They (Sarri and Guardiola) are very similar in their ideas, their attacking ideas are the same."