Soccer

Chelsea’s Potter fighting rearguard action ahead of Dortmund clash

Coach under fire over muted response to West Ham penalty incident and suggested Mudryk-Cucurella rift

Chelsea coach Graham Potter rejected criticism of his reaction to a West Ham United penalty shout last weekend. File photograph: Getty Images

Jacob Steinberg
Wed Feb 15 2023 - 05:00

Graham Potter has said pundits who criticised him for not getting angry at Chelsea not being given a penalty during their draw with West Ham “don’t know anything about anything”.

Chelsea’s head coach delivered his rebuke before his side’s Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund, whose key midfielder Jude Bellingham remains a summer target for the club.

Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole and Danny Murphy expressed surprise that Potter delivered a measured response after the officials decided not to act when West Ham’s Tomas Soucek appeared to handle a shot from Conor Gallagher.

However, Chelsea’s head coach, who denied suggestions of a rift between Mykhaylo Mudryk and Marc Cucurella, hit back at the former professionals and argued that he had a responsibility not to contribute to abuse of referees.

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“I try to be careful not to get into these discussions through the media,” Potter said. “Of course I get angry. I am a human being, just like you. I just choose to conduct myself in a way that I think is right on the side [of the pitch]. The same media talk about wanting me to be more angry but then run stories about problems in grassroots football and don’t see the connection.

“That’s not to say that we don’t all lose our temper, because we do. It’s an emotional thing. At the same time, I think I have a responsibility to myself, Chelsea and the game to act in a responsible way for me. For me, not anyone else, for me.

“If you think you can start a coaching career, not in the Premier League, but Northern Counties Division One and get to this point now, as the Chelsea manager in the Champions League, without getting angry or through always being nice, I would suggest you don’t know anything about anything.”

Chelsea club captain César Azpilicuta delivered a curt reply when asked about Soucek’s handball and whether he had seen Potter lose his temper in private. “I was angry,” the right-back said. “I can speak about myself when I was watching the iPad on the bench. It was a bad decision, to be fair, that we were not awarded a penalty … I’ve been with different managers who have expressed themselves in a different way. There is nothing more I can add.”

Chelsea have not given up on trying to sign Bellingham this summer, even though they face a battle to qualify for the Champions League and are not favourites to land the Dortmund and England midfielder.

There is an acceptance that Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid are leading the chase. However, Chelsea remain interested, despite the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital regime having spent more than €570 million (£500 million) on signings since last summer.

Chelsea broke the British transfer record when they bolstered their midfield with the £106.8 million purchase of Enzo Fernández from Benfica last month. Boehly and Clearlake are leading a major rebuild and have shown a willingness to spend big money on young talent.

Bellingham is expected to leave Dortmund for a huge fee. The 19-year-old is likely to cost at least £100 million and could command wages of more than £200,000 a week.

Chelsea would love to sign Bellingham, who shone for England at the World Cup, and are keen to build a strong line of communication with the player’s representatives. They have also targeted Brighton’s Moisés Caicedo and West Ham’s Declan Rice, who favours a move to Arsenal.

Whether Bellingham would be willing to join Chelsea, who want to extend N’Golo Kanté's deal, remains to be seen. Potter’s team are 10th in the Premier League and could miss out on European football. Chelsea must also take financial fair play considerations into account.

Potter addressed the noise around Cucurella not passing to Mudryk against West Ham, after Mudryk liked — and then unliked — a meme criticising the left-back on social media. Potter said that the Ukraine winger simply needed to build a connection with Cucurella on the pitch.

“There’s no problem in terms of anything sinister at all,” Potter said. “If anything it’s just team-mates understanding each other. It’s quite a common problem, I would say — when to pass and at what point and what time. It’s Mischa’s third game with us, so there’s no problem.”

Chelsea could be boosted by Wesley Fofana, Denis Zakaria and Mateo Kovacic returning from injury but Raheem Sterling is still unavailable. Potter must also adjust his defence after omitting Benoît Badiashile from his Champions League squad. Kalidou Koulibaly is competing with Trevoh Chalobah for a starting spot.

— Guardian

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