Chelsea midfielder Denis Zakaria reveals what the players are doing for Graham Potter
As quoted by Football.London, Chelsea midfielder Denis Zakaria has revealed that the players are fighting for manager Graham Potter after a tough run of results.
Chelsea stopped the rot of losing games and not scoring goals by beating Leeds United 1-0 on Saturday. Although the performance was not convincing, it was still a win that would have boosted some confidence in the camp.
Zakaria, who was one of the first names on the team sheet since the World Cup, picked up an injury against Fulham in January. Since then, he only came off the bench in the last two league games against Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds.
Here’s what the Swiss international, who is on loan from Juventus, said about the players fighting for Potter and looking forward to the Borussia Dortmund game (h/t Football.London):
“For sure [if the players are fighting for Potter]. It has been hard for the manager and the players; it wasn’t easy to lose games. We are Chelsea and we have to win. It is not easy when you lose but in the end, we did well [against Leeds] and are happy.
“We are happy with the win and it will help us ahead of Dortmund – it was important for the confidence of our players. I cannot say what will happen in the future but it will for sure give us confidence. We will work better after a win and we can build after this game.”
Chelsea go into the second leg of the Dortmund tie trailing by a goal. But, the good thing is that the return game is at Stamford Bridge. Moreover, the Blues dominated the German side in the first leg, only to not finish off the chances.
That problem is likely to persist for the second leg as well. With no genuine number nine in the squad (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was omitted), can Potter’s men put the ball in the back of the net against a resilient and in-form Dortmund side?
The responsibility of doing that rests on the shoulders of Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix, Kai Havertz and co. They have been guilty of not being composed in front of the goal.
More Chelsea News:
- Marcus Reus warns Borussia Dortmund against dropping their guard vs Chelsea
- Napoli star Victor Osimhen is keen to make Premier League switch amidst Chelsea interest
- Chelsea confirm loaning out of Andrey Santos back to Vasco da Gama
Despite the win over Leeds, it is clear that going past Dortmund in the Champions League is on the bigger agenda for Chelsea and Potter. It will be an interesting night because the German side are capable of defending deep and springing counter-attacks.