Chelsea No2 Gianfranco Zola was snappy with reporters when defending manager Maurizio Sarri's methods ahead of their FA Cup showdown with Manchester United.

Citing Pep Guardiola and his first season with Manchester City, Zola became spiky when he was asked whether Sarri has been tempted to change a few things at Chelsea due to their inconsistent run.

He said: “How do you know we are not making changes? We are adjusting a few things.

“Understand this is the Premier League. But without changing where we want to go, the direction is always the same.

“Two years ago, you were probably asking the same questions to Pep Guardiola. You were asking if he'd keep playing from the back.

“He said 'This was not in discussion and part of my game', even in the difficult moments.

“Maybe he adapted. He has improved a lot in that, because he got his team defending better and pressing better, attacking better.

“He has adjusted something but not the way he saw football. There are questions about what we're doing. We are adapting to the league, but we don't change what we believe is good because, otherwise, we are nothing.

“You admire what Pep has done. He's an inspiration. Not everything comes together straight away."