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Head coach Graham Potter acknowledges that Chelsea’s defending was not good enough as they were twice pegged back to draw 2-2 with Everton in the Premier League.
Head coach Graham Potter has acknowledged that he had been left disappointed with Chelsea‘s defending during the 2-2 draw with Everton.
The Blues went into Saturday’s Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge having recorded three successive wins in all competitions, keeping them in the hunt for European qualification.
When taking the lead through Joao Felix against Everton early in the second half, the expectation was that the West Londoners would kick on to secure maximum points.
Instead, Abdoulaye Doucoure equalised for the Toffees 17 minutes later, and although Kai Havertz netted from the penalty spot to put Chelsea back in front, Ellis Simms netted a second leveller for the visitors in the final minute of normal time.
While Potter was left impressed with Chelsea’s general play, he was less so with his team’s defending, the first Everton goal coming after they won the first header from a corner and Doucoure reacted fastest to convert from close range.
The pivotal effort at the end of the game was a result of Simms powering past Kalidou Koulibaly inside the penalty area before converting under Kepa Arrizabalaga.
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Speaking after the match, Potter felt that the West Londoners had done enough to win the game, but had no excuses when it came to ‘duels being lost’ in key areas.
The Englishman told Match Of The Day: “We did a lot well and we are disappointed with the goals we conceded tonight. We thought we played well enough to get the three points but ultimately if you don’t defend well, you don’t get the result.
“We lost duels in the box and when you lose the duels, there is danger. Credit to Everton, they are good at that but we have to do better. It’s disappointing. There were a lot of good things about the performance but we have just taken one point.
“We were attacking and then they broke through. we had to defend the set pieces and not allow ourselves to be open in big spaces but we did that.
“Joao Felix was lively throughout, Kai [Havertz] and Christian Pulisic were good, good width from Ben [Chilwell] and Reece [James]. Enzo [Fernandez] and [Mateo] Kovacic in midfield drove the game as well. Really disappointed because we wanted to win.”
Chelsea remain in 10th position in the standings, four points adrift of seventh-placed Brighton & Hove Albion having played two matches more than the Seagulls.
Potter’s side are next in action when they play host to Aston Villa on April 1, the two teams only separated by goal difference.
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