English Premier League 2023: Chelsea vs Fulham
Graham Potter, the team’s coach, has failed to figure out how to combine the abundance of skill in his large roster into a winning machine, with only 22 goals scored in 21 Premier League games so far this season.
Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea sparkled on his debut, and a few other newcomers showed promise, but the same issues plagued the Blues in Friday’s 0-0 draw with Fulham despite a 300 million pound ($361.53 million) January spending binge.
Graham Potter, the team’s coach, has failed to figure out how to combine the abundance of skill in his large roster into a winning machine, with only 22 goals scored in 21 Premier League games so far this season.
After an impressive first half of tackling and passing, Argentina’s World Cup champion Fernandez, who this week was acquired from Benfica for a British record of over 107 million pounds, flashed a shot just wide in the 72nd minute.
Seven minutes later, fellow debutant David Datro Fofana, who had been brought on as a replacement after the forward’s move from Molde in Norway, nearly had a shot blocked.
In his debut game for Chelsea after joining from PSV Eindhoven, Noni Madueke, a young international for England, displayed some speed and desire.
Even though the club’s new American owners made a number of recruits during the mid-season transfer window, the home crowd experienced their usual level of dissatisfaction as Chelsea failed to dismantle their well-organized opponents.
Potter, who is under pressure to stop Chelsea’s slump to the middle of the league standings, told reporters, “We didn’t do enough in terms of our aggressive play to generate more, which is something we need to do.”
“We missed a little bit of that connection, that flow, that knowing that you need.”
With wingback Reece James making a recovery from an injury and the addition of the new players, Potter felt it was reasonable that his team wasn’t performing at its peak.
However, he expressed confidence that they might still place in the top four and advance to the Champions League the following year. Chelsea presently trails fourth-placed Manchester United by nine points, although United has a game in hand.
“The squad has to be unified right now. That is the difficulty “said Potter.
Mykhailo Mudryk, a Ukrainian international who cost Shakhtar Donetsk another pricey January purchase, was replaced by Madueke at halftime because he was unable to find the same space he did in his debut against Liverpool two weeks prior.
The winger, according to Potter, had a cold.
The 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Craven Cottage in January was hailed by Fulham manager Marco Silva and his squad.
The players “comprehended the concept pretty well from the first minute and they performed incredibly effectively,” according to Silva.
He said Fulham made sure they maintained the form that has helped them climb to sixth in the standings rather than fretting about Chelsea’s revamped team.
The Portuguese coach stated, “To be honest, our attention is on ourselves… and what we can achieve as a team. “Our teamwork was excellent, and we earned the outcome.”
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