Chelsea experienced a very bumpy ride at the start of the season with the players struggling to score and eventually their former manager Thomas Tuchel got sacked. However graham Potter has shown great early signs as the new Chelsea manager as the Blues have found back their mojo and they will be heading to Italy to face AC Milan in the Champions League on the back of two big 3-0 wins.
Chelsea have already defeated Milan once and it was a totally one sided clash where the Blues won 3-0 at home on October 6th. They followed it up with another 3-0 win in the Premier League as they defeated the Wolves.
But amid all the positivity around Chelsea, the English tactician has shared some concerning news about N’Golo Kante and Hakim Ziyech. Potter has revealed that both of the players will not be travelling to Milan as they are not fit enough to feature in this fixture. He shares how it is not ideal for the team missing out on two important players.
“Hakim [Ziyech] is ill. N’Golo [Kante] were just waiting for his reaction from his training. It is certainly not ideal [his reaction] so we will have to wait and see the extent of it and go from there. t’s not ideal and it is disappointing for him and for us,” Potter revealed to Football London.
Potter explained how it has been a challenge for him to manage a side like Chelsea since he has not got much gametime to see the players more closely. But he shared how they have arranged meetings, videos and sessions to explain what he wants from each one of them. He feels the players are very receptive and we can see how things are changing on the field aswell with the results.
“There hasn’t been much time on the training pitch but you can learn in other ways. We’ve had to use meetings, videos, speak, explain and talk to try to understand where the players are at and how we can help them. I’ve found them really receptive and a it’s a pleasure to work with them,” Potter added.
The last time the Blues faced the Rossoneri they smashed them completely in a one sided clash. New signing Wesley Fofana was on the scoresheet for Potter’s men alongwith Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James. However that win was at home, going to San Siro will be a different challenge for the Blues but given the form they are in they will surely start as the favourites in this clash.
“That’s our challenge and it’s what we have to try to do. It’s an incredible place here and a very different game. AC Milan will try to use the home advantage like we did. Two good teams, too evenly matched teams. I’m looking forward to it,” Potter concluded
