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Chelsea boss Graham Potter dedicated the club’s 2-0 Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund to his determined players after the group enjoyed a season-changing 2-0 triumph over Borussia Dortmund to the delight of the Stamford Bridge faithful. The result felt of huge significance as it potentially marks the moment Potter won over the Chelsea crowd after his team served up arguably their best performance of the entire campaign.
Despite the 1-0 victory over Leeds, Potter headed into the game knowing that defeat could effectively spell the end of his time in west London – the stakes couldn’t have been higher.
But on this occasion, he came up trumps, nailing his team selection and getting a performance out of his players that suggests he is the right man to lead the team forward.
When quizzed on whether he was fearful the defeat could spell the end for his stay at Stamford Bridge, Potter issued the perfect response: “I didn’t really think about it in that way, there is always going to be that type of noise.
“My job is to help the players and to support them as they’ve been suffering. Nobody has enjoyed the run we had. That’s why today was important to us.”
When quizzed on whether he’d spoken to Todd Boehly, Potter added: “I have, I’m still here.”
One of Potter’s biggest calls was to start Marc Cucurella in place of Benoit Badiashile and the curly-headed Spaniard delivered, earning the UEFA man of the match award.
The composed defender thrived on the left side of the backline, much to the delight of his manager who said: “I think he got man of the match, if the result hadn’t gone our way – you know the consequences.
“I’m delighted for him, when you’re having a bad time like we are and we’ve had, you accept the criticism.
“Marc has dealt with it well, we’ve tried to shield him but at the same time, I feel like we picked the right moment tonight regardless of what’s happened.
“I thought with Benoit not available, he just gave us that balance in the back-three with his left foot and he delivered a top performance.”
Potter then showed his true class when asked whether the win felt extra special given some of the challenges he has been faced with in recent weeks – including vile death threats.
“Inevitably in life you’re going to have bad times and you’re going to have good times,” he added.
“I don’t see any other way to think about it. It’s about how you react in the bad times and it’s about how you deal with those situations.
“You have to find some perspective and analyse it in the correct way. Things are never bad forever, thankfully. Although sometimes it does feel that way.”
Potter cut an animated figure on the touchline throughout the contest and did not hold back when Chelsea found the net – proving how much this game meant to him on a personal level.
Chelsea now travel to Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday as they look to turn their domestic form around and maintain their momentum ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals.
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