Graham Potter’s reign as Chelsea manager has started positively. The highlight was their home and away victories against the Italian champions AC Milan. However, the Premier League has proven to be a little more challenging for his Blues side.
The mid-week match against London rivals Brentford put a hold on CFC’s brief winning run in all competitions. If not for the heroics of their goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, they might not have won in their previous match against Aston Villa, either. Once again, the brilliant goalkeeping from the Spaniard allowed the Blues to keep a clean sheet against the Bees.
Chelsea’s shortcomings in attack were more than visible on Wednesday night. The lack of creativity or a proper box-to-box midfielder who is unafraid to take a shot was more than visible. The substitution of Conor Gallagher early on due to sickness didn’t aid their cause at all.
Attacking significantly improved when Christian Pulisic was brought on. Despite his goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the USMNT captain was not given any minutes in the previous two matches. Even in the Wolves match, the west Londoners were able to create a lot of chances when Pulisic was involved.
Chelsea next host Manchester United. The Red Devils will be full of confidence after the recent success over Tottenham Hotspur. In recent years, United has been a team that CFC always finds formidable to beat.
One thing that will be different for Chels’ from their two previous outings is that United will not be sitting deep and absorbing pressure. Erik ten Hag’s side will be more open in the play; the pace of their forward players means they will be devastating in the counter.
As such, there is no other player in the current Chelsea side who can make more of an impact than Pulisic: pace and quick feet can put any opposition under pressure. He can help out the defenders as well.
There is no justification for starting Kai Havertz while he is hardly contributing anything in in front of goal or at the back. Despite his enormous talent, the German looks stuck in first gear more often than not. In the intervening period, the American has improved CFC in his last few appearances. Potter needs to believe in the United States skipper. If his recent performances are any indication – he will deliver.