Ian Wright baffled by Graham Potter decision to play Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic as wing-backs against Brighton & Hove Albion
Arsenal icon Ian Wright was baffled by the decision of Graham Potter to play Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic as wing-backs against Brighton & Hove Albion. The Blues ultimately lost the game 4-1.
We took on the Seagulls in our previous Premier League fixture at the Amex. The England international started on the left-hand side of a back five while the American winger was on the right.
Speaking on The Kelly and Wrighty Show (h/t Mirror), Wright was left puzzled by the English manager’s decision to start accomplished attackers in a more defensive role. And the former forward feels the duo struggled to support the Blues’ backline.
“It’s one of the confusing things what Graham Potter is doing at the moment. I can’t get my head around it.
“When I did the analysis on [Chelsea’s defeat to Brighton], the full-back area, Brighton just absolutely tore them to shreds because you’ve got [Christian] Pulisic and Sterling who are supposedly meant to come and try to help [Trevoh] Chalobah and [Marc] Cucurella. It wasn’t happening and I couldn’t understand it.”
Brighton opened the scoring in the fifth minute through Leandro Trossard. Two own goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah left Chelsea 3-0 down at half-time.
Kai Havertz managed to get on the scoresheet just after the break. However, Pascal Gross put the final nail in the coffin in stoppage time, as we ended up shipping in four goals.
The Stamford Bridge side looked shaky defensively. And the former Manchester City star and Borussia Dortmund forward playing as wing-backs did not help Thiago Silva’s cause in the defence.
Sterling signed for Chelsea in the recent transfer window from the Sky Blues. The 27-year-old hit the ground running with the Stamford Bridge side. However, he has been underwhelming in recent weeks.
Pulisic made his way to West London from the Bundesliga in 2019. The 24-year-old was a key player for BVB during his time there. However, the USMNT star has failed to live up to expectations in England up until now.
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Sterling and Pulisic have not been at their best in recent weeks. While the experiment worked against Red Bull Salzburg, it may not have been the best decision from Potter to play the two out of position against his former side.