I feel like a fool, says beaten boss

GRAHAM POTTER admitted he was left to ‘look a bit of a fool’ after suffering a nightmare return to his former club.

Chelsea were humiliated at Brighton after falling three goals behind by half-time, with the hosts exploiting the Londoners down the flanks where Potter deployed Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic as wing-backs.

Potter, who abandoned the set-up at half-time, said: ‘I understand that whenever you do something and it doesn’t work you look a bit of a fool. I have to accept that, deal with that, do better, and I’ll learn.

‘That’s the process. If you lose you have to look at it and if you’ve made a mistake or got things wrong, you have to analyse it and do better.’

Brighton fans relished taunting Potter after his departure to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

He said: ‘I have nothing to say sorry for or apologise for. I did a good job, you can see the team is a good team. I took over when they were fourth from bottom in the

Premier League and were probably the third-worst team.

‘I hope for their sake, the next managers do as good a job and that’s brilliant for them.’

Potter added: ‘The scoreline was painful. Brighton played a good game, especially in the first half.

‘You can always look at goals and think you can do better. We have had a lot of football but that’s no excuse.’

A delighted Roberto De Zerbi celebrated his first win as Brighton boss, having joined after being forced to leave Shakhtar Donetsk in July following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said: ‘I had already a great team that Putin decided to take away from me. In that moment I found another team and I have to be very thankful to Brighton.

‘We must continue to play this level of football. The atmosphere was fantastic. Our fans were the best player on the pitch.’