[WATCH] No more Blues: Relieved Graham Potter hoping for struggling Chelsea’s geluk to change after Euro victory
|Published
Lucky guy: Kai Havertz
Chelsea boss Graham Potter is hoping his luck turned in their 2-0 Champions League last 16 win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
The Blues got lucky in only their third win of 2023 when, after Raheem Sterling smashed a 43rd-minute goal to wipe out a 1-0 first-leg lead at Stamford Bridge, they got a helping hand from VAR when they were awarded a controversial penalty.
Ben Chilwell’s cross hit Marius Wolf’s hand early in the second half and after Kai Havertz hit the post from the spot, he was given a second bite at the cherry for encroachment, which he converted in the 53rd minute.
WHAT A TURNAROUND! 🙌#UCL pic.twitter.com/UtSh61jhfO
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 7, 2023
Dortmund’s England star Jude Bellingham slammed the decision, telling BT Sport: “From where I was it looked like it was pretty close and I’m not sure what more he can do with the hands… and then the fact that they’ve had a retake, I think it’s a joke.”
Potter, who was under heavy pressure heading into the clash, will not care after he got a comforting hug from owner Todd Boehly after keeping their season alive.
With his job safe for now after making the Champions League quarterfinals, Potter is desperate for his manne to now improve their 10th place in the Premier League.
How things look after an entertaining few days 😅 pic.twitter.com/S25KPg9DfZ
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 6, 2023
Asked about their poor run this season, Potter says: “Inevitably, in life, you’re going to have bad times and good times. I don’t see any other way to look at it. It’s how you react to the bad times, get some perspective and analyse it in the correct way. Things are never bad forever but it felt like that sometimes!”
He adds: “You always need a bit of luck. I would say before the World Cup, we had nine players out. If you have all these players out, and tonight they had some players missing and that goes in our favour. I’m not going to complain about that at all.”
'It was a night for us to show our quality.' 💪
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 8, 2023
- A proud Graham Potter. pic.twitter.com/0cgSb7AKSN
In Tuesday’s other action, Benfica joined the last eight after thrashing Brugge 5-1 to seal a 7-1 aggregate win.
Chelsea next face Leicester away in the Premier League on Saturday.