Graham Potter could still get Chelsea sack despite Dortmund win if he cannot fix big issue
Graham Potter, the manager of Chelsea, would have felt relieved after the Blues’ 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, which secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
This was an important win for Potter, especially because he had been under increasing pressure regarding his job security after two crucial home games.
In the match against Borussia Dortmund, Graham Potter addressed one criticism by leading his team to score two goals in a game for the first time in 2023.
Raheem Sterling scored the first goal before half-time with a powerful shot past Alexander Meyer, and a disputed penalty by Kai Havertz put Chelsea ahead in the two-leg tie.
Marius Wolf was deemed to have handled the ball, and VAR awarded the spot-kick.
Havertz missed his first attempt, but was given a second chance due to encroachment by the visitors, which he successfully converted.
When the final whistle blew, the fans at Stamford Bridge celebrated with joy as they appeared to support the team and Potter for the first time in several weeks.
Despite the win over Borussia Dortmund, the pressure will continue to be on Graham Potter as he needs to use this victory as a starting point for future success.
Additionally, one major issue remains within his team. Specifically, Chelsea has lost each of their last nine games in which they have conceded the first goal to their opponents. This is a concerning trend that Potter will need to address in order to ensure his team’s success in future games.
In the past few months, Arsenal, Newcastle, Fulham, Dortmund (in the first leg), Southampton, Tottenham, and Manchester City on three separate occasions have all scored the first goal against Chelsea and then went on to win the game. This indicates a worrying trend of Chelsea struggling to come back and win games after conceding the first goal.
Graham Potter is likely concerned about his team’s inability to bounce back after conceding the first goal, especially since they have not even managed to secure a single draw in their last nine games where the opposition has taken the lead.
He will be hoping that his squad can overcome this mental hurdle quickly and show the necessary resilience to overturn a deficit. Despite this concern, Potter has recently praised his players’ mentalities, which suggests that he has confidence in their ability to recover from setbacks.
“It’s not just this evening, we’ve had a tough period,” Potter said after the win over Dortmund. “We had to respond against Leeds. We played a good game against Dortmund away but we lost.
“We had a poor first half against Southampton and then it can quickly spiral into another unpleasant situation. We’ve had to stick together and the players have done that.”
In the future, Graham Potter will be eager to ensure that Chelsea displays the same resilience they showed against Dortmund, even if they fall behind in matches. If the team continues to struggle when conceding the first goal, Potter’s time as manager may be limited. Therefore, he will need to find a way to address this issue and help his players develop the necessary mental toughness to overcome early setbacks.
Graham Potter could still get Chelsea sack despite Dortmund win if he cannot fix big issue
