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Graham Potter ‘disappointed’ that his first game as Chelsea leader ended in a draw, regrets RB Salzburg’s ‘annoying’ equalizing goal… but praises his players for their ‘great’ attitude since his arrival
- Chelsea remains bottom of Champions League group after RB Salzburg draw
- Raheem Sterling’s opener was nullified by Noah Okafor’s equalizing goal
- Graham Potter admitted his side wasn’t sharp in his first game in charge
- He complained about the equaliser, but said players had responded well to his arrival at the club
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Graham Potter expressed disappointment when he saw his first game as Chelsea boss end in a 1-1 draw against RB Salzburg.
The Blues remain at the bottom of their Champions League group after Raheem Sterling’s opener was canceled 15 minutes before time in West London by Noah Okafor’s equalizer.
The hosts lacked acumen before and after Sterling’s goal, and Potter admitted his side’s finishing at Stamford Bridge needs improvement, but reassured fans that the team will improve.
Graham Potter admits disappointed after his first game when the Chelsea boss ended in a draw
Raheem Sterling (center) opened the scoring for the Blues early in the second half
Potter – who took charge of his first Champions League game as manager – told BT Sport: ‘[I am] ultimately disappointed with the result. I think those guys gave it their all, really. They attacked well.
“We missed a bit in the last third. their keeper [Philipp Kohn] made some good saves. We came a lot in the last third. We often put Raheem in 1v1 situations, which was good.
“They had a lot of blocks and we didn’t always finish well. We have to dust ourselves. The request was great. We will get better.
But Noah Okafor equalized for RB Salzburg to ensure the Austrian side took a point
Potter admitted his side wasn’t sharp in their Champions League match in West London
‘[I am] disappointed with the result, but the boys gave their all and it wasn’t meant to be today.’
Potter also credited the Austrian Bundesliga for taking their chance when they were out of the majority, but admitted that ‘small details’ had helped his side allow an ‘irritating’ equaliser.
“It’s not easy to determine how they play,” Potter added. ‘You have to blame them. It’s impossible to control the whole thing for 90 minutes and the bits we didn’t they scored.
“It’s always annoying when you concede a goal. The overall defensive performance was good.
However, he praised the players for responding well to him since he was Thomas Tuchel. replaced
“It’s the little details. It has not been easy for the boys either, but they have responded very well to us (arriving at the club). The attitude was great.’
The former Brighton boss will have to wait until after the international break against Crystal Palace for his first chance to register his first win as Blues boss.
Chelsea were set to face Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend, but that game has now been postponed with police efforts stretched ahead of the Queen’s funeral.
In the Champions League, their next game faces a daunting journey to take on Group E leader AC Milan in San Siro.