Graham Potter warns Chelsea must suffer pain to progress after Brighton defeat
Speaking to the media at the Amex Stadium (h/t Evening Standard), Chelsea boss Graham Potter has warned that the club needs to suffer some pain to progress after the defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Blues were handed a pasting at the hands of Seagulls on Saturday. Even the 4-1 score-line flattered Potter’s men who were second best at everything on the day.
It is not all doom and gloom though, as this was Chelsea’s first defeat since the new manager took charge on September 7. They have played some good stuff in the meantime but had one of those days where everything went badly and the opposition was fired up.
Talking about the defeat and how to suffer in order to progress, here’s Potter (h/t Evening Standard):
“It’s not a disgrace to lose here. You can see that the opponent was very motivated. And they have got some really good players, with quality. We got off to a really bad start.
“But you have to have that sometimes if you want to make progress. If you think that the line is going to go straight up, it’s impossible.
“That team you saw out there for Brighton wasn’t the team that was there three years ago. There is a process of pain that you have to go through and you have to keep trying to improve.”
At Chelsea, a 4-1 defeat to any team will arguably continue to be a disgrace, especially against Brighton. With all due respect to the Seagulls, this was still their first win under their new manager Robert De Zerbi on their sixth try.
That defeat kept Chelsea fifth in the league table, three points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United with a game in hand. There is a long way to go in this season, so overreacting after one defeat would not make sense.
However, as Potter mentioned, it is about analysing the mistakes as a collective and working to improve on them going forward. Having an intense schedule with injury issues hasn’t made life easier for the boss.
The Blues did lack the presence of someone like N’Golo Kante in midfield and the drive of Reece James from the wing-back position.
Having already qualified for the next round of the Champions League as group toppers, Wednesday’s game against Dinamo Zagreb becomes a dead rubber. Hence, it could be an ideal opportunity for Potter to rest some of his key players so that they are fresh to face league leaders Arsenal at the weekend.
More Chelsea News:
- Transfer News: Arsen Zakharyan confirms his wish to come to Chelsea
- Manchester United join Chelsea in the race for Bayer Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong
- Graham Potter reveals why he took Chelsea goalie Kepa Arrizabalaga off
Every club goes through a period of transition where everything would not go as planned and thought. Chelsea are in that phase. And Potter is right to acknowledge that the team and the club need to suffer some pain to progress in the long term.