Potter warns of more pain to come
CHELSEA clearly like how they do things at Brighton. They could do a lot worse than copying their patience, especially with Graham Potter warning that difficult days like this are all part of the process and there will likely be more on the way. Potter endured many on his way to helping transform Brighton from a team that finished 17th into one he left fourth in the Premier League.
And as the dust settled on an eventful afternoon at the Amex, there was an informed view from within Brighton that the time Potter was afforded was a key reason for that rise. Potter himself said: ‘If you think that the line is going to go straight up, it’s impossible. That team you saw out there for Brighton wasn’t the team that was there three years ago.
‘There is a process of pain that you have to go through and you have to keep trying to improve. Unless there is another way. Whenever you are trying to learn or master something, get better, you need to sometimes have a step back, have a bad spell or suffer to grow and get better.’ That might not be what many of a Chelsea persuasion want or are prepared to hear after this punishing defeat.
But realism, honesty and a sense of perspective are just some of the things you get with Potter. This, though, was a painful dose of realism.
A hefty setback made even worse due to the sub-plot surrounding the game, the identity of the team inflicting it and one heavy enough to cause concern even with the mitigating factors.
While Chelsea were building momentum during his nine-game unbeaten start, Potter maintained his admirable manner of not getting carried away, mindful of what can be lurking around the corner. With good reason. Some positive results had been claimed without the most convincing of performances. Frailties had appeared but not been fully exposed. Rampant Brighton made sure they were, exploiting Chelsea’s disorganised defensive set-up to kickstart Roberto De Zerbi’s reign with his first win in unforgettable fashion. Amid a gruelling schedule, injuries have deprived Potter of his two best players — Reece James and N’Golo Kante — who can influence Chelsea all over the pitch and two centre-backs, Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly. Solving the wing-back situation, particularly with James out, has been a headache and will remain one at least until the World Cup. Potter has used Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic away from their more natural positions in those roles, though that left the back three too stretched across the pitch and overworked at Brighton. Leandro Trossard’s opener plus Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah own goals had Brighton 3-0 up at half-time. Pascal Gross sealed victory with a fourth in injury time after Kai Havertz pulled one back for Chelsea. Potter’s tactical tweaking had previously paid off but Chelsea came unstuck at Brighton, where more natural full-backs Cesar Azpilicueta and Ben Chilwell started on the bench. To his credit Potter (right) did not grab onto any of the excuses on offer, saying: ‘Sometimes you get things wrong tactically. I am ok to say that because ultimately if you want to be a role model for people trying their best and trying to improve, you need to be that way yourself.’