Potter stance amid Chelsea crisis and boos with clear Mudryk worry
Chelsea were booed off after they slumped to a meek two-goal home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday as the pressure mounted on under-fire boss Graham Potter - before his ruthless sacking.
It was a result that saw the Blues fall into the bottom half of the Premier League standings, their lowest position at the stage of the season since 1994/95. As damningly, the result took Villa into the top half – ensuring that Chelsea can at least now claim they have beaten a top ten team this season.
The result comprehensively ended the mini-revival earlier this month which saw league wins over struggling Leeds and Leicester either side of the Champions League triumph over Borussia Dortmund. Their progression into the competition’s last eight is the only highlight in a diabolical campaign.
Chelsea players were dejected as they slipped to a home loss to Aston Villa (Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)Prior to the international break, Chelsea were disappointingly held at home to relegation-battling Everton and this latest result proved to be the final straw for Potter's reign. Their hopes of European qualification, barring a sensational Champions League victory, now appear to be over.
Speaking after the match, Potter defended his players and insisted that it was a ‘positive performance’ in terms of stats. Yet this is a common theme of his stint in the Stamford Bridge dugout, a similar trend to his problems at Brighton : his side can create chances, but don’t score enough of them.
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“In both boxes we were second best,” Potter said after the match. “The first goal for them is disappointing from our perspective. There were a lot of good things in the game, a lot of attacking entries and shots.
Graham Potter tried to paint a positive spin on the Blues loss (Chelsea FC via Getty Images)Have Your Say! Will Graham Potter still be Chelsea boss next season? Tell us what you think here.
“If you look at the stats of the game it was a positive performance, but in terms of the scoreline it’s not. We’re all really disappointed.”
Potter added that he understood the fans frustration that the result was more important than underlying numbers: “But if you look at the stats apart from the main one there is a lot of positives there. But at the moment into doesn’t feel too positive.”
One of the main issues Potter's successor must now solve is how to integrate an influx of big-money new arrivals into a coherent team. Former Brighton defender Bruno Saltor has taken charge on an interim basis, while the likes of Marco Silva, Julian Nagelsmann and Mauricio Pochettino are all linked with the vacant post.
The Blues have an embarrassment of attacking riches yet Mykhaylo Mudryk, who arrived in a deal worth up to £87 million, has yet to hit the ground running.
Mudryk endured another frustrating day for the Blues (Clive Rose/Getty Images)The Ukraine international had a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the first half against Villa as he broke through on goal, but instead of passing it to his unmarked teammate Kai Havertz he instead had an effort on goal – which was comfortably saved by Emiliano Martinez.
Former Blues striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink lamented Mudryk’s decision-making on Sky Sports after the match: “He needs to square it to Havertz,” a frustrated Hasselbaink explained.
“If he squares it, it is 100 per cent a goal. Chelsea have created here again, you can see he is not used to getting these kind of chances. He needs to take an extra touch and then take his time because he had so much time.”
Bigger questions remain over Mason Mount, who is out of contract at Stamford Bridge next summer and faces an uncertain future. With extension negotiations at a standstill with the England international not among the club’s top 20 earners, there are fears he may leave the club.
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Mason Mount clapped Chelsea fans after the loss despite being an unused substitute (James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)Mount was an unused substitute in the defeat against Villa, having missed the last month with an abdominal strain. Potter explained that his absence from this game, despite being named on the bench, was a fitness issue.
“With Mason I just felt we were there, we were there in the game,” Potter explained. “We made some attacking subs and wanted to see how it all landed. Mason’s coming back, he only had a couple of days training.”
Potter’s decision to play Reece James in a back three rather than at right wing-back, where Ruben Loftus-Cheek started the match, raised a few eyebrows. Among them was former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood, who hit out at Chelsea’s approach.
Reece James was played in a back three, rather than at wing-back (Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)“It doesn’t help,” Sherwood blasted on Premier League Productions. “I cannot understand why Reece James is not playing as a right wing-back. You’ve got [Benoit] Badiashile on the bench, why’s he not playing because it makes it more solid, they look a threat on the counter, Aston Villa.
“The most offensive player they have is Ben Chilwell. He’s given them the width, he’s playing high up the field, they’ve just got to foce that ball in there time and time again and they’re just not doing it, look at the frustration [when he doesn’t get the ball]. He’s got a good delivery, he’s a threat.”
Sherwood added: “This should be a threat on the right side as well but unfortunately it’s not because you’ve got Reece James playing as a right-sided centre-back instead of a right wing-back.
“For me he has to be there, you’ve taken away a lot of what Reece James gives you, which is offensive threat. You look at Loftus-Cheek on the right side, if that’s Reece James he would be as high as Chilwell is on the other side, it’d give them a double-pronged attack down the left and right side.”
Chelsea now have lost as many Premier League matches (10) as they have won this season and now have a negative goal difference after 28 matches. A Champions League match-up with Real Madrid awaits, but even after Potter's sacking, there are plenty more questions than answers at Stamford Bridge as uncertainty continues to grip the club.
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