Graham Potter’s Blues career got a massive boost with the 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund.
There was a period when Chelsea and Graham Potter weren’t able to pick six of their starters from the team that beat Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. In the XI that he selected for the biggest night of his career it is arguable that at least nine of them would make the best possible team when the squad is fully fit.
“If you have no Reece James, no N’Golo Kante, no Wesley Fofana, no Ben Chilwell, no Loftus-Cheek, no Sterling – these players are important for us as well,” Potter said after the 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
On top of that, Reece James’ hamstring tweak wasn’t serious, he was fit to play after being rested. Having injured himself within 60 minutes of his return in December this can be considered fortunate. Wesley Fofana is back too, having missed all the action between the start of October and the middle of February, the timing couldn’t have been better.
Kalidou Koulibaly admitted when he joined the club that there would be an adaption period to the pace of the league. At 31 he was written off quickly, now he is coming into his best patch of form in London and he chose the best time to do it.