Guardiola sends message to Chelsea about sacking under-fire manager Potter after latest defeat
Sunday, after Manchester City defeated Chelsea 4-0 in the third round of the FA Cup, Pep Guardiola urged Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly to stand by manager Graham Potter.
City defeated Potter’s troubled team for the second time in four days, dashing their hopes of winning a domestic cup this season.
Already eliminated from the League Cup by City in November and defeated 1-0 by the Premier League champions on Thursday, Chelsea’s tumultuous season deteriorated further as Guardiola’s squad ran amok at the Etihad Stadium.
Before halftime, Riyad Mahrez’s excellent free-kick was followed by Julian Alvarez’s penalty and Phil Foden’s goal to make the score 3-0.
Chelsea was eliminated from the FA Cup in the third round for the first time since 1998, after finishing second in the competition for the previous three years.
With Chelsea languishing in 10th place in the Premier League, 10 points behind the top four, Potter is feeling the heat just four months after replacing the fired Thomas Tuchel.
The sound of Chelsea fans chanting Thomas Tuchel’s name and sarcastically yelling “shoot” whenever they attempted a rare attack during their most recent humiliating defeat could not have comforted the former Brighton manager.
Chelsea have won just three of their last 12 games in all competitions, but Guardiola defended Potter by urging the club’s hierarchy to give him time to implement his strategies.
“I would say to Todd Boehly, give him time. I know in big clubs, results are important but I’d say give him time,” Guardiola said.
“What he’s done at Brighton is outstanding, but we need time in the first season. I had (Lionel) Messi in Barcelona my first season so I didn’t need two seasons because Messi was there.”
In a first half that even Potter described as “painful,” Chelsea did not take a single shot.
Potter could point to an injury crisis that sidelined nine players and led to the senior debut of teenager Bashir Humphreys in defense.
However, the 47-year-old acknowledged that performance must improve rapidly.
“The results in a small space of time are not positive. You can make excuses and look for reasons or say it isn’t good enough. Both of those answers are correct,” Potter said.
“We have to keep improving and stick together because clearly we are suffering as a football club and it’s not nice at all. But that’s where we are at the moment.
“We can’t do anything apart from do our jobs better and work harder. You understand the supporters’ frustration, we respect that. But our job is to do our job and keep working.”
Insisting he still has the backing of his players, Potter added: “I think there is support in the dressing room.
“We are just going through a bad moment. We have to stick together and keep working.”
Meanwhile, the Football Association will investigate alleged incidents of homophobic chanting by City fans.
“We strongly condemn the use of the term ‘rent boy’ and we are determined to drive it out of our game,” an FA spokesperson said.
“We continue to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, as well as the UK Football Policing Unit, in relation to the use of this term.”
Guardiola sends message to Chelsea about sacking under-fire manager Potter after latest defeat
