Martin Keown made it clear why blame Chelsea manager, Graham Potter why Chelsea were beating 4-1 by Brighton for not featuring Chelsea’s new signing Denis Zakaria despite the player being fully fit
No one thought, with Potter’s impressive unbeaten start to his tenure came to a resounding end on familiar turf as the Blues were hammered 4-1 by his former side.
The Seagulls raced into a three-goal lead and although Chelsea threatened a comeback when Kai Havertz reduced the deficit three minutes after the restart, the home team held on and restored their three-goal lead in injury time.
It was a miserable return to the Amex for Potter who spent three years on the south coast turning Brighton into a genuine Premier League force to be reckoned with.
Zakaria, who joined the Blues on a season-long loan from Juventus in the summer, has been the forgotten man at Stamford Bridge this year.
As the Swiss midfielder Zakaria continues to wait for his Chelsea debut, the club has shown a remarkable bit of training footage involving him.
I hope the journalist’s press potter on this, doesn’t matter if we are 3 up or 3 down this guy hasn’t seen a blade of grass. I know it was a panic loan but to not even have a minute?”
Confirmed Done Deal: Martineli to Chelsea, Tielemans and Messi deals
Injuries have forced Potter to shuffle his pack on numerous occasions since replacing Thomas Tuchel but Keown believes he is overcomplicating matters with his near-constant tinkering
‘Chelsea looked unrecognizable at the back. I think there were too many changes,’ a former Arsenal defender told the BBC.
‘It counts against you in this situation because you are trying to formulate a partnership and it’s always changing at the back. It was a different back three today.
‘They are wing-backs that aren’t wing-backs. They played Raheem Sterling in a wing-back position today and I don’t think it suited the way they played.
‘Maybe Graham Potter was trying to be too clever. Keep it the same and football is a simple game.’
Chelsea Engines Injured and How Potter Can Win The Next Four Games To Gain Fans Trust
It was reported that Zakaria could receive his Chelsea debut match as the Blues trip to play Dinamo in the Champions League on Wednesday night.