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Graham Potter's Chelsea looked a lot like Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea, but that didn't do much to draw them to Salzburg.

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LONDON — Graham Potter’s reign at Chelsea is now officially underway. In Chelsea’s first game since Thomas Tuchel was sacked last week, the Blues drew 1-1 with Salzburg in his league Champions League on Wednesday.

The result left Chelsea with just one point from the opening two games of the Champions League group stag.e.

– Report: Chelsea vs Salzburg | Champions League Table | What’s to come

Raheem Sterling’s second-half goal was the first of Chelsea’s Champions League campaign after a deadlocked first half, but Salzburg found an equalizer by Noah Okafor.

ESPN’s James Olley reacts and analyzes in London.

Jump to: Player Ratings | Best/Worst Performers | Highlights and Notable Moments | Post-Match Quotes | Key Stats |


quick reaction

1. Possession-based Graham Potter stuck in a familiar problem

Potter’s days began with a 1-1 draw against Red Bull Salzburg at Chelsea, giving us a glimpse of what the 47-year-old is aiming for at Stamford Bridge.

Predecessor Thomas Tuchel’s first game saw the characterization of a 0-0 draw with Wolves. In that game, with the Blues back, he played three and dominated the ball, recording 78.9% possession that night. In his three full seasons at Brighton, Potter’s side averaged possession percentages of 51.7%, 50.7% and 54.3%, so it’s no surprise that he has better players here. did. Chelsea have raised that figure to 70.8% of his.

But what both Tuchel’s Chelsea and Potter’s Brighton had in common was wastefulness in front of goal. The Blues missed several opportunities to end his 90 minutes. The last chance came in injury time when Armando his Broja flared over the crossbar.

At least they scored a goal, but Tuchel’s defensive vulnerability that did so much for Chelsea reappeared when Thiago Silva’s botched interception saw Junior Adam cross and Noah Okafor equalized. .

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS and more (US)

2. Raheem Sterling continues his rise in another role

Perhaps the most interesting individual assignment in Potter’s 3-5-2 form was the use of Sterling as left-back.

In fact, Sterling was often so high on the pitch that he often resembled a wide forward. Mason found the goal on the right flank of Mount He found the goal via Pierre his Emerick, so it would have pleased Potter that the goal came from Overload in that position. From Aubameyang to Sterling, he used the time well to curl his shot into the far corner.

Sterling was just beginning to step into the end of Tuchel’s managerial term, scoring three times in his last four games.He was a constant threat here, but was sent off after six minutes.

Arguably, the downside of Sterling playing the role was shown by Salzburg’s equalizer as both Sterling and left-wing centre-back Marc Cucurella were caught upfield.

3. Christian Pulisic remains an impactful understudy

Pulisic was a substitute in all seven games before Tuchel left. The reduction in his role was one of the reasons he was eager to leave the club in the summer transfer window, with the club hierarchy refusing consideration.

Potter’s arrival marked a fresh start for the entire team, but Pulisic found his time to make an impact limited and was introduced as Chelsea’s final replacement for Sterling with just six minutes remaining. He completed 8 of 9 passes with just 11 touches, but it was clearly a difficult task to salvage the cause later in the day.

The good news for the US Men’s National Team international is that he’s back on the pitch. The bad news is that the wait for him to start playing games at club level will last until October, less than two months before the World Cup starts.


player rating

Chelsea: Kepa 6, James 8, Azpilicueta 6, Silva 7, Cucurella 6, Mount 7, Kovacic 7, Jorginho 6, Sterling 7, Aubameyang 7, Havertz 5.

sub: Broha 6, Loftus-Cheek 6, Gallagher 6, Ziyech 5, Pulisic 6.

Salzburg: Cohn 7, Dedic 7, Bernardo 7, Pavlovich 7, Ulmer 7, Capaldo 6, Seiwald 6, Caregard 6, Suchic 6, Sesco 7, Okafor 7

submarine: Gurna Duas 6, Cameri 6, Adam 7, Koita 6.


best and worst performers

Best Performer: Reece James, Chelsea.

England manager Gareth Southgate was present to see James’ typically dynamic play at full-back.

Worst Performer: Kai Havertz, Chelsea.

It was another quiet night for the 23-year-old, who had a strike partner in Aubameyang, but both were substituted in the 66th minute.


highlights and notable moments

Thomas Tuchel is gone but will not be forgotten by Stamford Bridge fans who honored his former coach during the match. .

After the first half, Raheem Sterling opened Chelsea’s goal account for the Champions League season just after half-time:

However, Chelsea’s lead did not last. Salzburg found a goal that worked (although Chelsea felt they had a foul in their build-up) and leveled in the final 15 minutes:


Post-match: Voices of coaches and players

Chelsea manager Graham Potter said: “We are disappointed with the result. I thought the players gave their all. We scored good goals but lost a bit in the second half, but their goalkeeper made some good saves. Down. Personality and application were good, we get better. We scored Raheem quite often in one-on-one situations and goals were a good result of that.

Potter on whether players need time to get used to him: “The players, their reactions and attitudes have been very positive. They are smart. They are good players, they are top players. They work hard for each other. There is a great spirit in the group. They’re disappointed” It’s normal and you can feel that disappointment because the results didn’t work out as well as they had hoped. You can feel that frustration But my job is to help them get the results they want.Today wasn’t the best start in terms of points, but in terms of the group’s actions on the pitch, there were a lot of positives. We got results.”

Potter on the transition to taking over the team: “It wasn’t easy for the players. They have treated us very well these last few days. That’s a point we have to take and improve. The attitude was great. No complaints, except for the fact that it’s not.


Key stats (Courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information)

  • Raheem Sterling has scored his first Champions League goal for Chelsea. No English player has scored more goals since the 2019-20 Champions League season (11).

  • Chelsea have picked up one point from their first two Champions League games this season. This is his first two-game record in his Champions League season and his fewest since he scored a point in the 1999/00 season.


next

Chelsea: The Blues are back in the Premier League, heading to Crystal Palace on Saturday 1 October at 10am. Then on Wednesday 5 October at 3pm he will host AC Milan to restart the Champions League. E.T.

Salzburg: Die Loten Bren We’ll be back in action with the Austrian Bundesliga hosting Rapid Vienna on September 18th at 11am ET.

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