Manchester City 4-0 Chelsea: The pressure on Graham Potter is mounting at Chelsea. The Blues have won only one of the last seven official games; Chelsea was humiliated by Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday. Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, stands up for his colleague.
Painful chants were heard for Potter during the match: Chelsea supporters sang to his predecessor Thomas Tuchel and also called for Roman Abramovich to return. In addition, ‘we shot’ was cynically chanted after the few moments when Chelsea attempted a goal. Guardiola was asked after the game if he had a message for Chelsea’s current owner Todd Boehly.
Guardiola believes in Potter
“I’d tell him to give Graham time. I know that at big clubs you are judged by results, but I would say he deserves time,” Guardiola said. “He has done something fantastic at Brighton, but all trainers need time. That was also true for me in my first season at Manchester City. It was different at Barcelona because I had Lionel Messi there. That’s why I only needed one season instead of two.”
“It’s not easy to play against us at the level we are at, whether it’s the FA Cup or the League Cup,” Guardiola referred to the League Cup game in November, in which his side lost 2-2. 0 won. “It’s not easy for Graham, not for Chelsea or any team.”
Potter was of course also asked about the chants at the press conference after the cup elimination. “All we can do is work even better and harder,” he explained. “We understand and respect the frustration of the supporters. We must do our job. Of course you always have to deal with the opinions of others, negativity and criticism, especially if the results are not good. That’s part of the job.”
Potter pointed out that Chelsea have lost four times in the Premier League since his arrival. “Out at Newcastle United with nine players missing, a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal, a defeat on a bad day against Brighton and a defeat against Manchester City. We also drew against Manchester United in Brentford,” he summed up. “So the results are not good. You can look for reasons, or you can say it wasn’t good enough. That is both correct. We have to keep improving and put our heads together. We are having a hard time as a football club and that is not pleasant. That’s the state of affairs.”
