Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta has hailed the impact of new manager Maurizio Sarri, saying “the team looks better with every minute.”

Sarri replaced fellow Italian Antonio Conte earlier this month after a protracted managerial saga, but has quickly left his imprint on the squad.

The team beat Inter Milan in a preseason fixture on Saturday, a game that saw Azpilicueta make his return to the squad after a post-World Cup holiday.

“It’s been really good since the first day,” the Spainiard told Goal. “We’ve been learning his methods and I think the team looks better with every minute.

“We know we don’t have a lot of time to prepare for [the new season] so we have to work hard to pick up the movements we want to do.

“I think we saw a good team against Inter and we have to play collectively to get the results.”

Last season’s FA Cup winners will have an earlier start to the season than most, as after their final preseason clash, against Arsenal on Wednesday in Dublin, Chelsea face reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday.

“We are improving and we have to keep learning in the games that we have on Wednesday and then on Sunday against City,” the 28-year-old said.

“We know we can still improve, we have room for improvement and we want to work on that aspect.”